Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 6:9

"After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." — Matthew 6:9 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: Among His other saving instructions and divine lessons, with which He counsels believers, He has set forth for us a form of prayer in a few words. He thus gives us confidence that what we ask for so concisely will be quickly granted.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: He who gave us life also taught us to pray, so that when we speak to the Father using the prayer the Son has taught, we may receive a more ready hearing. It is to pray as friends and family when we offer to God what is His own. Let the Father recognize the Son's words when we offer our prayer. Since we have Him as an Advocate with the Father when we sin, let us, as sinners, put forth the words of our Advocate when we petition for our offenses.¹

Glossa Ordinaria: Yet we do not confine ourselves completely to these words, but also use others conceived in the same spirit, with which our hearts are kindled.²

St. Augustine of Hippo: In every petition, we must first win the favor of the One we are petitioning, and after that, state what we are asking for. We commonly do this by saying something in praise of the One we petition, placing it at the beginning of our prayer. In this case, however, the Lord instructs us to say nothing more than, "Our Father who is in Heaven."³

Many things were said in praise of God, yet we never find the children of Israel being taught to address God as "Our Father." Instead, He is presented to them as a Lord over slaves. But concerning Christ's people, the Apostle says, We have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15), and this is not by our own merits, but by grace. We express this in the prayer when we say, "Father," a name that also stirs up love. For what can be dearer to a father than his children? It also inspires a humble spirit, that we should say to God, "Our Father," and a certain confidence that we will obtain what we ask. For what will He not give to His children when they ask, since He has already granted them the status of being His children?

Finally, what great concern should possess a person's mind, that having called God his Father, he should not prove unworthy of such a Father. By this, the rich and the noble are admonished, when they become Christians, not to be haughty toward the poor or lowly born, who, like them, can address God as "Our Father." Therefore, they cannot say this truly or piously unless they acknowledge these others as their brothers.

St. John Chrysostom: For what harm is there in such kinship with those beneath us, when we are all equally related to the One above us? For whoever calls God "Father," in that one title, at once confesses the forgiveness of sins, adoption, the inheritance, the brotherhood he shares with the Only-Begotten, and the gift of the Spirit. No one can call God Father except one who has obtained all these blessings. In a twofold manner, therefore, this moves the hearts of those who pray: both by the dignity of the One being prayed to and by the greatness of the benefits we gain through prayer.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: We do not say "My Father," but "Our Father," for the teacher of peace and master of unity did not want people to pray individually and separately. When anyone prays, he is not to pray for himself alone. Our prayer is communal and for everyone; when we pray, we pray not for one person, but for all of us, because we all are one. So also, He willed that one should pray for all, just as He Himself, in one body, bore us all.⁴

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Our own necessity compels us to pray for ourselves; brotherly love prompts us to pray for others.

Glossa Ordinaria: Also, because He is the common Father of all, we say, "Our Father," not "My Father," which is appropriate to Christ alone, who is His Son by nature.⁵

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The phrase "who is in heaven" is added so that we may know we have a heavenly Father, and may be ashamed to immerse ourselves completely in earthly things when we have a Father in heaven.

John Cassian: And so that we should hasten with strong desire toward that place where our Father dwells.⁶

St. John Chrysostom: "In heaven" does not confine God's presence there, but rather draws the petitioner's thoughts away from the earth and fixes them on things above.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, "in heaven" can mean among the saints and the righteous, for God is not contained in space. The heavens are literally the upper parts of the universe, and if God is thought to be in them, then birds are more worthy than humans, since their dwelling is nearer to God. But it is not said that God is near to those of lofty stature or to the inhabitants of mountaintops, but rather, to the broken in heart (compare to Psalm 34:18).⁷

Just as the sinner is called "earth"—as in, earth you are, and to earth you shall return (Genesis 3:19)—so, on the other hand, the righteous might be called "heaven." In this sense, it is rightly said, "who is in heaven," for there seems to be as much difference spiritually between the righteous and sinners as there is physically between heaven and earth.

To signify this, we turn our faces to the east in prayer, not as if God were only there, having deserted all other parts of the world, but so that the mind may be reminded to turn to a more excellent nature—that is, to God—while the body, which is of the earth, is turned toward that more excellent body, which is of heaven. It is desirable that everyone, both small and great, should have right conceptions of God. Therefore, for those who cannot fix their thoughts on spiritual natures, it is better that they think of God as being in heaven rather than on earth.

Having named the One to whom our prayer is made and where He dwells, let us now see what we ought to pray for. The first of all the petitions is, "Hallowed be your name." This does not imply that the name of God is not already holy, but that it may be held as sacred by people; that is, that God may be so known that nothing is esteemed more holy.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, He instructs us to beg in our prayer that God may be glorified in our life, as if to say, "Make us live so that all things may glorify You through us." For "hallowed" means the same as "glorified." It is a petition worthy for a person to make to God: to ask for nothing before the Father's glory, but to subordinate all things to His praise.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: Alternatively, we say this not because we wish for God to be made holy by our prayers, but because we are asking Him that His name be kept holy in us. For since He Himself has said, Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 20:7), we ask and request that we who have been sanctified in Baptism may persevere as we have begun.⁸

St. Augustine of Hippo: But why is this perseverance asked of God if, as the Pelagians say, it is not given by God? Is it not a mocking petition to ask God for what we know is not given by Him, but is in a person's own power to attain?⁹

St. Cyprian of Carthage: For this we petition daily, since we need a daily sanctification, so that we who sin day by day may cleanse our offenses anew through a continual sanctification.

1. Tr. vii, 1
2. ord.
3. Serm. in Mont., ii, 4
4. Tr. vii. 4
5. ord.
6. Collat. ix. 18
7. Serm. in Mont., ii, 5
8. Tr. vii, 7
9. De Don. Pers. 2