Church Fathers Commentary Luke 11:1-4

"And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation." — Luke 11:1-4 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: After the account of the sisters, who symbolized the two lives of the Church, our Lord is rightly said to have both prayed Himself and taught His disciples to pray. This is because the prayer He taught contains within itself the mystery of both lives, and the perfection of these lives is obtained not by our own strength, but by prayer. Thus, it is said, And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, since He possesses every good in abundance, why does He pray? He is full and has need of nothing at all. To this we answer that it is fitting for Him, according to the manner of His incarnation, to follow human observances at the proper time. For if He eats and drinks, He also rightly prayed, so that He might teach us not to be lukewarm in this duty, but to be more diligent and earnest in our prayers.

Titus of Bostra: Having seen a new way of life, the disciples desired a new form of prayer, since several prayers could be found in the Old Testament. Thus, it follows, When he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, so that we might not sin against God by asking for one thing instead of another, or by approaching God in prayer in a way we should not.

Origen of Alexandria: And to point out the kind of teaching, the disciple continues, as John also taught his disciples. About him, you have truly told us that among those born of women none greater had arisen. And because you have commanded us to seek things that are great and eternal, from where shall we arrive at this knowledge except from You, our God and Savior?

Gregory of Nyssa: He reveals the teaching of prayer to His disciples, who wisely desire this knowledge, directing them on how they ought to petition God to hear them.

St. Basil the Great: There are two kinds of prayer: one composed of praise with humility, the other of petitions, which is more subdued. Whenever you pray, then, do not immediately break forth into petition. Instead, if you recognize your sinful inclination, you should plead with God as if compelled by necessity. And when you begin to pray, forget all visible and invisible creatures and begin with the praise of Him who created all things. Thus, it is added, And he says to them, When you pray, say, Our Father.

Pseudo-Augustine: How gracious is this first word! You dared not raise your face to heaven, and suddenly you receive the grace of Christ. From an evil servant, you are made a good son. Do not boast, then, of your works, but of the grace of Christ, for in that is no arrogance, but faith. To proclaim what you have received is not pride, but devotion.

Therefore, raise your eyes to your Father, who begot you by Baptism and redeemed you by His Son. Say "Father" as a son, but claim no special favor for yourself. He is the special Father of Christ alone, but the common Father of us all, for He begot Christ alone, but He created us. And therefore, according to Matthew, when it says, Our Father, it adds, which art in heaven—that is, in those heavens of which it was said, The heavens declare the glory of God. Heaven is where sin has ceased and where there is no sting of death.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But He does not say, which art in heaven, as if He were confined to that place, but to raise the hearer up to heaven and draw him away from earthly things.

Gregory of Nyssa: See what great preparation you need to be able to say boldly to God, "O Father." For if you have your eyes fixed on worldly things, or court the praise of men, or are a slave to your passions, and you utter this prayer, I seem to hear God saying, "Since you, who are of a corrupt life, call the Author of all that is incorruptible your Father, you pollute an incorruptible name with your defiled lips."

For He who commanded you to call Him Father did not give you permission to speak lies. But the highest of all good things is to glorify God’s name in our lives. Thus, He adds, Hallowed be thy name. For who is so debased that, when he sees the pure life of those who believe, he does not glorify the name invoked in such a life? Therefore, he who says in his prayer, "May your name, which I call upon, be hallowed in me," is praying this: "May I, through Your helping aid, be made just, abstaining from all evil."

St. John Chrysostom: For just as when a person gazes upon the beauty of the heavens and says, "Glory to you, O God," so likewise when he beholds a person's virtuous actions, he sees that human virtue glorifies God much more than the heavens.

Pseudo-Augustine: Or, it is said, Hallowed be thy name; that is, let Your holiness be known to all the world, and let the world worthily praise You. For praise is fitting for the upright, and therefore He commands them to pray for the cleansing of the whole world.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Since the name of God is still despised among those to whom the faith has not yet come, when the rays of truth have shone upon them, they will confess the Holy of Holies.

Titus of Bostra: And because the glory of God the Father is in the name of Jesus, the Father's name will be hallowed whenever Christ is known.

Origen of Alexandria: Or, because idolaters and those in error give the name of God to idols and created things, it has not yet been made holy in the sense of being separated from those things from which it ought to be. He teaches us, therefore, to pray that the name of God may be reserved for the only true God. To Him alone belongs what follows: Thy kingdom come. We pray this so that all the rule, authority, power, and kingdoms of the world may be put down, along with the sin that reigns in our mortal bodies.

Gregory of Nyssa: We also plead to be delivered by the Lord from corruption and to be taken out of death. Or, according to some, Thy kingdom come means, "May Your Holy Spirit come upon us to purify us."

Pseudo-Augustine: For the kingdom of God comes when we have obtained His grace. For He Himself says, The kingdom of God is within you.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Or, those who say this seem to wish for the Savior of all to illuminate the world once again. But He has commanded us to desire that truly awesome time in our prayers, so that people might know it is necessary for them to live not in laziness and reluctance—lest that time bring fiery punishment upon them—but rather to live honorably and according to His will, so that time may weave crowns for them. Thus, it follows, according to Matthew: Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if He says, "Enable us, O Lord, to follow the heavenly life, so that whatever You will, we may will also."

Gregory of Nyssa: Since He says that human life after the resurrection will be like that of the angels, it follows that our life in this world should be ordered with respect to what we hope for in the next. In this way, though living in the flesh, we may not live according to the flesh. By this, the true Physician of souls destroys the nature of the disease. Those who have been seized with the sickness by which they departed from the divine will may immediately be released from it by being joined to the divine will. For the health of the soul is the proper fulfillment of the will of God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It seems, according to the evangelist Matthew, that the Lord’s Prayer contains seven petitions, but Luke has included it in five. In truth, the one does not disagree with the other; rather, Luke has suggested by his brevity how those seven are to be understood. For the name of God is hallowed in the spirit, but the kingdom of God is to come at the resurrection of the body. Luke, then, showing that the third petition is, in a way, a repetition of the first two, wished to make this understood by omitting it. He then added three others, beginning with daily bread, saying, Give us day by day our daily bread.

Pseudo-Augustine: In the Greek, the word for "daily" means something added to the substance. It is not the bread that goes into the body, but the bread of everlasting life, which supports the substance of our soul. The Latins, however, call this "daily" bread, which the Greeks call "for the coming day." If it is daily bread, why is it eaten a year later, as is the custom with the Greeks in the East?

Take daily what benefits you for the day; live in such a way that you may be considered worthy to receive it daily. The death of our Lord is signified by this, as is the remission of sins. Do you not daily partake of that bread of life? He who has a wound seeks to be cured. The wound is that we are under sin; the cure is the heavenly and awesome Sacrament. If you receive daily, "Today" comes to you daily. Christ is "Today" for you; Christ rises for you daily.

Titus of Bostra: Or, the bread of souls is the divine power that brings the everlasting life to come, just as the bread that comes from the earth preserves our temporal life. But by saying "daily," He signifies the divine bread which is both present and to come. We ask for this to be given to us daily, requiring a certain pledge and taste of it, since the Spirit who dwells in us has produced virtues surpassing all human virtues, such as chastity, humility, and the others.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, perhaps some think it is unfitting for saints to ask God for physical goods, and for this reason, they assign a spiritual meaning to these words. But even granting that the chief concern of the saints should be to obtain spiritual gifts, it is still proper for them to seek their common bread without blame, according to our Lord’s command. For from the fact that He commands them to ask for bread—that is, daily food—it seems He implies that they should possess nothing, but rather practice an honorable poverty. For it is not the role of those who have bread to ask for it, but rather of those who are oppressed by want.

St. Basil the Great: It is as if He said: For your daily bread—that is, what serves your daily needs—do not trust in yourself, but flee to God for it, making the necessities of your nature known to Him.

St. John Chrysostom: We must, then, ask God for the necessities of life. This does not mean varieties of meats, spiced wines, and other things that please the palate while burdening your stomach and disturbing your mind. Rather, we should ask for bread that is able to support the body's substance—that is, what is sufficient only for the day, so that we may take no thought for tomorrow. But we make only one petition about physical things, so that the present life may not trouble us.

Gregory of Nyssa: Having taught us to take confidence through good works, He next teaches us to plead for the forgiveness of our offenses, for it follows, And forgive us our sins.

Titus of Bostra: This was also necessarily added, for no one is found without sin, so that we would not be hindered from holy participation on account of human guilt. For since we are bound to render every kind of holiness to Christ, who makes His Spirit dwell in us, we are to be blamed if we do not keep our temples clean for Him. But this defect is supplied by the goodness of God, who forgives the severe punishment of sin for the sake of human frailty. And this act is done justly by the just God when we forgive our debtors, so to speak—that is, those who have injured us and have not restored what was due. Thus, it follows, For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For He wishes, if I may say so, to make God the imitator of the patience that people practice. He intends that the kindness they have shown to their fellow servants, they should in like manner seek to receive in equal measure from God, who repays each person justly and knows how to have mercy on all people.

St. John Chrysostom: Considering these things, then, we ought to show mercy to our debtors. For if we are wise, they are the cause of our own greatest pardon; and though we accomplish only a few things, we shall receive many. For we owe many great debts to the Lord, and if even the smallest part were exacted from us, we would soon perish.

Pseudo-Augustine: But what is the debt, if not sin? If you had not received anything, you would not owe money to another. And therefore, sin is imputed to you. For you had the "money" with which you were born rich, having been made in the likeness and image of God, but you have lost what you once had. Just as when you put on pride you lose the gold of humility, you have signed for the devil’s debt, which was not necessary. The enemy held the bond, but the Lord crucified it and canceled it with His blood.

But the Lord, who has taken away our sins and forgiven our debts, is able to guard us against the snares of the devil, who is accustomed to produce sin in us. Thus, it follows, And lead us not into temptation—that is, into temptation we are not able to bear. Like a wrestler, we wish only for such temptation as the human condition can sustain.

Titus of Bostra: For it is impossible not to be tempted by the devil, but we make this prayer so that we may not be abandoned to our temptations. Now, that which happens by divine permission, God is sometimes said in Scripture to do. And in this way, by not preventing an increase of temptation that is beyond our strength, He "leads us into temptation."

MAXIMUS: Or, the Lord commands us to pray, Lead us not into temptation, meaning, "let us not experience lustful and self-induced temptations." But James teaches those who contend only for the truth not to be unnerved by involuntary and troublesome temptations, saying, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.

St. Basil the Great: It is not, however, fitting for us to seek bodily afflictions in our prayers. For Christ has universally commanded people everywhere to pray that they do not enter into temptation. But when one has already entered into it, it is fitting to ask the Lord for the power to endure, so that those words may be fulfilled in us: He that endures to the end shall be saved.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what Matthew placed at the end, But deliver us from evil, Luke has not mentioned, so that we might understand that it belongs to the previous petition, which spoke of temptation. He therefore says, "But deliver us," not "And deliver us," clearly proving this to be one petition: "Do not do this, but do this." But let everyone know that he is delivered from evil in this way: when he is not brought into temptation.

Pseudo-Augustine: For each person seeks to be delivered from evil—that is, from his enemies and from sin. But he who gives himself up to God does not fear the devil, for if God is for us, who can be against us?