What does the Lord's Prayer teach?
The prayer Jesus gave us is a pattern for all prayer: it begins with God (His name, His kingdom, His will), then brings our needs (daily bread, forgiveness, protection), and ends in praise. It teaches us what to pray for and how to pray for it, simply, trustingly, together.
This question arose from studying How do I pray?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
It starts with God, not us
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. We come as children to a Father, and we begin with His glory, not our agenda. Prayer puts God first, and then everything else falls into place.
Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
His kingdom and His will come first
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer aligns us with God's purposes before it asks anything for ourselves, and Jesus Himself modeled it in the garden: not my will, but yours.
Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
Daily bread: honest dependence
Give us today our daily bread. Not hoarding, not anxiety, just enough for today, received from His hand. It is a request for provision and a discipline against worry in one.
Give us today our daily bread.
Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?
Forgiveness received and given
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Jesus underlines it: if you forgive others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. The measure of our own forgiveness is the mercy we extend.
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Deliverance and praise
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. It ends where it began: with God. He is able to keep us, and to Him belongs the praise.
Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. ’
No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
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Verses to meditate on
Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. ’
He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
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