What is the Lord’s prayer?
Jesus, in answer to the question, “How are we to pray?” said, pray like this and gave us what we call The Lord’s Prayer, or the Disciple’s Prayer. It is one of the best-known prayers among Christians. Both the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke have versions of this prayer that Jesus gave us. Various Bible translations and church traditions have created numerous different versions of the prayer. The protestant traditional version of the Lords Prayer is based on the 1611 KJV. Other versions in common use are from the New English Version (adopted by the Church of England in 1977), and the Catholic version of the “Our Father”. The Lord’s prayer differs in length – the Catholic Church, for instance, omits the doxology at the end (“For thine is the kingdom, the power, etc). All these popular versions are based on the text of Matthew 6:9-11, rather than as it appears in Luke 11:2-4.
Some people believe that Jesus meant that this prayer is to be said exactly as written, some believe Jesus intended for us to use it as a model prayer. The majority believe that both are true. The Didache has a version of the Lord’s prayer that is to be prayed three times each day.
The ritual of praying this particular prayer three times a day isn’t a bad idea. Doing this creates in us humans a habit. Not all habits are bad. This one is really good. Jesus has given us a way to make prayer a daily priority and reduced the friction, impediment, to do it by giving us the words. No other thought it necessary, though in time additional words and thoughts will come to you spontaneously.
Versions of the Lord’s Prayer (The Disciples Prayer)
There are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer in each New Testament, one in Luke and one in Matthew. There is also the version from the Didache, which was Canon in the early church and most likely what was being used by first through fifth-century followers of The Way of Jesus.
The Didache Chapter 8
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for Thine is the power and the glory forever.
Luke 11:2-4 New Living Translation (NLT)
2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a]
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
3 Give us each day the food we need,[b]
4 and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.[c]”
Footnotes:
11:2 Some manuscripts add additional phrases from the Lord’s Prayer as it reads in Matt 6:9-13.
11:3 Or Give us each day our food for the day; or Give us each day our food for tomorrow.
11:4 Or And keep us from being tested.
Matthew 6:9-13 New International Version (NIV)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
Footnotes:
Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Luke 11:2-4 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father,[a] hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.[b]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.[c]
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’[d]
Footnotes:
Luke 11:2 Other ancient authorities read Our Father in heaven
Luke 11:2 A few ancient authorities read Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Other ancient authorities add Your will be done, on earth as in heaven
Luke 11:3 Or our bread for tomorrow
Luke 11:4 Or us into temptation. Other ancient authorities add but rescue us from the evil one (or from evil)
The Model Prayer
The Lord’s prayer is also a framework or model of how to pray. Each line has a purpose. We’ll go through the prayer line by line to examine the purpose for each.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Begin by acknowledging to whom you are praying. God is our Father, meaning that He created us, and He loves and cares about us as the perfect and mature dad would. God is spirit and lives in Heaven – in the realm of spirit. To hallow His name means to proclaim it (and God) is holy – altogether different, set apart, perfect in morality. This sentence recognizes the character of God the Father.
Thy kingdom come.
Next, acknowledge God’s Sovereignty over us. Confess that He is our King, but we are not living in His Kingdom now. We are travelers passing through foreign lands.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
While He rules in Heaven, we are His subjects, and we bring His Kingdom to earth as we do His will. We trust because He is the perfect Parent, that He has our best interest at heart and ask that His will be accomplished on earth through us.
Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.
God wants us to rely on Him, not ourselves, or our society, or government for our daily needs—spiritual, practical, relational, emotional, and physical. This is easier to understand if you are a farmer or have a garden that supplies 80 percent of your food. By relying on Him fear, doubt, and worry are left behind. The stress those emotions generate and the damage they do to our bodies, minds, and souls is bypassed, and we live better healthier lives.
Interpersonal relationships are fraught with problems, perceived and real slights and offenses. We are to forgive those debts owed us, and the way and measure we forgive so too we are asking God to forgive us. This is a key part of the prayer that reframes our self-centered way of working. We aren’t asking God to simply forgive us, but to forgive us the way we forgive others. It’s kind of like one sibling cutting a piece of cake and the other sibling getting to choose their piece first. There is an incentive built in here to be equitable and nice, to forgive seventy times seven for each offender and offense. Forgiveness is a big part of love, and we want that love from God just as much as he wants it for us to one another.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one;
In the first half of this last request, we ask that we are kept away from the influence of Lucifer. Lucifer, or Satan, is the one who tempted Jesus in the wilderness and who is in control of this world. We are asking, in the second half, that we are taken out of Lucifer’s control. This ties back to God’s will being done on earth as it is in Heaven. Where God’s kingdom is, Lucifer’s is not.
for Thine is the power and the glory forever.
We close by reminding ourselves of God’s sovereignty, magnificence, and our eternity with Him.
The Lord’s Prayer, or Disciples’ Prayer, is a model provided by Jesus for how to pray. We recognize who God is, ask for His will for us here and now, ask for Him to provide the life-sustaining basics in our lives, seek forgiveness and a forgiving heart, seek protection, and seek help in continuing to obey His will.
