What is the Lord's Prayer?

The Lord's Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, recorded in Matthew 6:9-13 and in a shorter form in Luke 11:2-4. It begins Our Father which art in heaven and contains six requests: three about God — his name, his kingdom, his will — and three about human need — daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation and evil. Jesus gave it as a pattern for prayer, introducing it with the words after this manner therefore pray ye.

Where it comes from

The prayer appears twice. In Matthew it sits in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, straight after Jesus warns against praying to be seen and against vain repetitions. In Luke it is the answer to a direct request: one of the disciples says Lord, teach us to pray. The two versions differ slightly — Matthew has forgive us our debts, Luke has forgive us our sins — which suggests Jesus taught it as a shape to pray within rather than a fixed formula. The word trespasses, familiar from church use, goes back to William Tyndale's 1526 translation and came into worship through the Book of Common Prayer; the King James Version uses it in the two verses that follow the prayer.

What each line asks

Our Father which art in heaven sets the relationship before any request: a parent, addressed by a family — our, not my. Hallowed be thy name asks that God be honoured as he is. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven asks for the world to be put right, and includes the one praying. Give us this day our daily bread asks for enough for today, not for a stockpile. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ties receiving forgiveness to giving it, the only line Jesus goes back to explain afterward. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil admits weakness and asks for protection.

The ending, and how to use it

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever is the closing line in the King James Version of Matthew. It does not appear in Luke's version or in the oldest surviving complete manuscripts of Matthew, which is why many modern translations place it in a footnote; a similar closing line was already being prayed by Christians in the second century. As for use, the prayer works both ways. It can be said as written, alone or with others. It can also be used as an outline — pausing on each line and praying about what it covers in your own words — which is closer to what after this manner suggests.

Passages referenced

⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) →
¹ 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. ² 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. ³ Give us day by day our daily bread. ⁴ 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 (KJV) →
¹⁴ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV) →

Written by the Esther team. Scripture quoted from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.