The Bible and prayer
What is the Lord’s Prayer?
The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how to pray. It is recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, and Christians of every tradition have used it ever since.
Where it comes from
When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Jesus answered with a short prayer. This is how it reads in Matthew’s Gospel:
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.
You may know it better in the traditional wording that begins “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Churches use several versions, old and modern, but they are all translations of the same prayer.
What each line means
- “Our Father in heaven.” Christians pray to God as a Father who loves them, and they pray alongside others: it is “our”, not “my”.
- “May your name be kept holy.” Before asking for anything, the prayer asks that God would be honoured. “Hallowed” in the older version means the same.
- “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done.” A request that God would put the world right, and that we would do what he wants.
- “Give us today our daily bread.” We ask for what we need for today, and acknowledge that everything comes from him.
- “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” We ask to be forgiven, and commit ourselves to forgive people who have wronged us.
- “Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We ask for protection, knowing how easily we go wrong.
Debts, trespasses or sins?
Matthew’s version says “debts” and Luke’s says “sins”. The traditional English form says “trespasses”, while churches in Scotland have generally said “debts”. All three mean the same thing: the wrongs we have done, for which we need forgiveness.
“For thine is the kingdom”
The familiar ending, “for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever”, appears in the translation quoted above but not in the oldest copies of Matthew. It is a line of praise that Christians added very early when they used the prayer in worship, which is why some versions include it and some do not.
How to use it
You can simply say it, slowly, meaning each line. Many Christians say it every day. You can also use it as a framework, pausing after each line to pray in your own words about what it raises: something to thank God for, something you need, someone you must forgive.
Just before he gave the prayer, Jesus warned against rattling off words without thought.
In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.
The Lord’s Prayer is short. God is not impressed by length. He is a Father who already knows what his children need and is glad when they ask.