The Bible shows us what prayer is. First, God has a need; He has a purpose. Second, He puts this purpose within man through the Holy Spirit so that man feels this need as well. Third, man responds by uttering this purpose back to God through prayer. Fourth, God does His work and accomplishes this purpose. This is the meaning of prayer.
Let us read a few passages. Matthew 9:36 through 10:1 says, “And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is great, but the workers few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest. And He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they would cast them out and heal every disease and every sickness.” According to this passage, (1) God is moved with compassion to save, (2) He wants man to pray, (3) man prays, and (4) God sends men to work and to save.
Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” According to this verse, (1) God will increase Israel with men, (2) God wants men to pray for this matter, (3) men pray for this matter, and (4) God accomplishes it.
Isaiah 62:6-7 says, “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.” According to this verse, (1) God wants Jerusalem to become a praise in the earth, (2) He has appointed watchmen, (3) the watchmen pray, and (4) God fulfills their desire.
From these passages we see that all proper prayers issue from God’s heart and express God’s desire. Prayer implies that God has a desire. He wants to fulfill such a desire, yet He does not want to do it directly; He wants man to cooperate with Him on earth. For this reason He unveils His desire to man and charges man to pray. Only after man prays will He fulfill His desire. This is the meaning of prayer.
The prayer the Lord taught the disciples in Matthew 6 touches God’s will. God’s eternal will is expressed through it. From this prayer, we can see God’s heart’s desire. We can also see what He wants to accomplish and how it is being accomplished.
We can divide Matthew 6:9-13 into three sections. Verses 9 through 10 form the first section. Verse 11 to the end of the first sentence of verse 13 forms the second section. The second sentence of verse 13 to the end of the verse forms the third section. The first section is related to God, the second section is related to man, and the third section again relates to God and points out the underlying basis.
Verse 9 says, “Our Father who is in the heavens.” “Our” denotes something corporate. In this prayer the words our, us, and we are used nine times. Although one prays this prayer alone in a “private room” (v. 6), its tone is not individual but corporate. “Who is in the heavens” denotes that our prayers have to reach the Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19). In order for our prayers to reach the Holy of Holies, we cannot trust in our feelings; we must trust in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, we must come to the Father in faith (v. 22). “Father” denotes that we have a life relationship with God. We pray in this way because we stand as sons. Only when we stand in such a position can we fulfill God’s heart’s desire.