What is the Lord's Prayer?

The Lord’s Prayer, also called the Our Father, is the prayer Jesus taught His followers. It is short enough to learn as a child. Matthew Henry says it has “much in a little”: in a few lines it covers God’s glory, our daily needs, our sins and our struggles.

Where Jesus taught it

The prayer appears twice in the Gospels. In Matthew it is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had just warned against praying to be seen and against babbling, as if God could be persuaded by many words (Matthew 6:7–8). Then He showed His disciples how to pray instead.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Matt 6:9–13 · King James Version (1769)

Luke records a different moment. Jesus had been praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, as John the Baptist had taught his disciples.

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luke 11:1–4 · King James Version (1769)

Luke’s version is shorter. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown treat it as a second, varied form of the prayer, given on another occasion, which would explain the differences. Alexander Lopukhin’s commentary takes another view: Luke gives the original setting, and Matthew placed the prayer in the Sermon because it fits its teaching on prayer.

Is it a set form or a pattern? Henry writes that we are not tied to using only these words, yet it is very good to use them, as long as we pray with understanding. The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown holds that it is both a model and a prayer to be prayed, but warns against superstitious repetition. Practical steps for prayer are in How should I pray?.

First God’s name, kingdom and will

Henry counts six petitions: the first three concern God and His honor, the last three our own needs. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Greek fathers and the Reformed churches also count six, while the Latin fathers and the Lutheran church count seven, treating deliverance from evil as a separate request.

The prayer begins by calling God our Father in heaven. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain that the word Father expresses His nearness and the words in heaven His majesty. Through Jesus, believers are adopted into God’s family, and the Spirit leads them to call God Father (Romans 8:15). The word our reminds us that we pray as members of one family.

The first request is that God’s name be hallowed. Barnes explains that God’s name is already holy, so this is a wish that God be honored as holy everywhere and by all people.

Next we pray for God’s kingdom to come, that is, for His reign. Jesus began His ministry by announcing that the kingdom was near (Mark 1:15). Barnes takes this as a prayer that God would reign everywhere and the gospel would spread, while others stress the coming of the kingdom in its fullness when Christ returns.

Then we ask that God’s will be done on earth as in heaven, where it is done gladly and completely. Jesus prayed the same way in Gethsemane, asking that the Father’s will be done, not His own (Matthew 26:39).

The order matters. Barnes notes that putting these requests first teaches us that God’s glory matters more than our wants. Henry connects this with Jesus’ words to seek first God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

Then our bread, forgiveness and protection

Only after that does the prayer turn to our needs. The Greek word translated daily occurs nowhere else, and its exact meaning is debated: daily, needed for life, or for the coming day. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it as the bread we need to live and warn against spiritualizing the request away. Henry notes that we ask only for bread, not luxuries, and only for today, which teaches us to depend on God day by day. John Gill suggests that Jesus may be alluding to the manna God gave Israel each morning (Exodus 16:4).

Next we ask God to forgive us. Matthew speaks of debts and Luke of sins: sin is a debt we owe to God. The request is joined to a condition: as we forgive those who wronged us. Right after the prayer, Jesus came back to this one line (Matthew 6:14–15). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown stress that our forgiving others is not the ground of God’s forgiveness. But no one who deliberately refuses to forgive can expect to be forgiven. Jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant to show this (Matthew 18:21–35).

The last requests ask God not to lead us into temptation but to deliver us from evil. God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), though He does allow His people to be tested. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the request as a prayer not to walk into temptation of our own accord, as Peter did in the high priest’s courtyard. God promises not to let His people be tested beyond what they can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Greek can mean evil or the evil one. Many see the devil here, while Jamieson, Fausset and Brown understand deliverance from every kind of evil.

Praying the Lord’s Prayer today

Many Bibles end Matthew’s prayer with praise to God for His kingdom, power and glory. Others place it in a note. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown point out that it is missing from the oldest manuscripts and from Luke, and suggest it was added in the style of Jewish prayers, which echo David’s praise (1 Chronicles 29:11). Barnes also calls it doubtful, but many Christians close the prayer with it, and it fits the prayer’s focus on God’s glory.

Pray it slowly, not as a routine. Jesus warned against empty repetition, not against praying the same words with a sincere heart. You can also pause after each line and pray in your own words about God’s name, His rule in your life, your needs today, the people you need to forgive and the temptations you face.

Above all, the prayer reminds us whom we are talking to. After His resurrection Jesus told His disciples that His Father is their Father too (John 20:17). Henry draws the comfort from this: Christ’s Father is our Father. Every time we pray these words, we come to God as His children.