When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them the prayer recorded in Matthew 6:9–13: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Its structure is the lesson: God’s name, kingdom, and will come first; our needs — provision, pardon, protection — come second. It is both a prayer to pray word for word and a pattern for all praying.
It is prayed every Sunday in every PCEA congregation — in English, Kikuyu, and Kiswahili — often from memory, sometimes on autopilot. And that is exactly the danger: a prayer this familiar can pass our lips without passing through our hearts. So let’s slow down and walk through the Lord’s Prayer one line at a time, asking what Jesus actually taught us to say.
“Our Father in heaven”
The first two words already contain a theology. “Our” — not “my.” Jesus teaches a family prayer; even prayed alone in a locked room, it joins you to every believer on earth. Prayer, from its first breath, refuses selfishness.
“Father” — this was Jesus’ own address to God (Abba), now shared with us: “to all who received him… he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). We do not approach a distant force or a suspicious judge but a Father who “knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
“In heaven” — intimacy without familiarity. He is Father; He is also enthroned above all things. The prayer holds warmth and reverence together from its first line.
“Hallowed be your name”
This is a petition, not a compliment — we are asking for something: that God’s name would be treated as holy, honoured as it deserves, in the world and first of all in us. It is striking that this is petition number one. Before bread, before forgiveness, before protection, Jesus teaches us to want God’s glory. Whoever prays this line honestly is volunteering: hallowed be your name — starting with my life, my speech, my business dealings, my home (Matthew 5:16).
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
God’s kingdom is His reign — begun in Jesus, growing now, arriving in fullness when Christ returns. To pray “your kingdom come” is to ask for all three: for the Gospel to spread, for God’s justice and peace to take ground in real communities, and for the King to come.
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” makes the prayer concrete and costly. In heaven, God’s will is done joyfully, immediately, completely. Praying this line means asking that our homes, churches, workplaces — and nations — look more like that. It is the prayer’s most political line and its most personal one: Jesus Himself prayed it face-down in Gethsemane — “not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
“Give us today our daily bread”
Only now do our needs enter — and notice how modest the request is. Not wealth; bread. Not a lifetime’s security; today’s. The line echoes Israel in the wilderness, gathering just enough manna for each day (Exodus 16), and Proverbs’ wise prayer: “give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8).
“Daily bread” covers everything our bodies genuinely need — food, health, work, shelter. Praying for it daily does two things: it turns anxiety into asking (Philippians 4:6), and it keeps the successful honest — the harvest that fills your store came from the same Father as the manna. And it is still “our” bread, not “my” bread: one cannot pray this line sincerely and stay indifferent to a hungry neighbour.
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”
Sin is pictured as debt — something owed that we cannot repay. The Gospel’s answer is that Christ cancelled the record of debt at the cross (Colossians 2:13–14), and this line sends us back to that well daily. The believer’s forgiveness is settled in Christ, yet Jesus teaches us to keep confessing, keep receiving — because relationship needs honesty, not because grace runs out.
Then comes the clause that makes this the prayer’s most searching line: “as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus underlines it immediately after the prayer (Matthew 6:14–15): the forgiven forgive. An unforgiving heart praying this prayer condemns itself with its own words. Nothing in the Christian life is more difficult — or less optional.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
God tempts no one (James 1:13); this petition asks Him to steer us clear of trials that would overwhelm us and to rescue us when evil presses in. It is the prayer of someone who has stopped trusting their own strength — exactly the person Jesus said could stand: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Where the first petitions aim high (God’s name, kingdom, will), the last one is refreshingly realistic: we are fragile, the enemy is real, and our safety is God’s business, daily.
Many traditions close with the doxology — “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” — a fitting return to where the prayer began: God first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I pray the Lord’s Prayer word for word, or use it as an outline?
Both, and Scripture supports both. Jesus said “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9) — a pattern — and in Luke 11:2, “When you pray, say…” — words to say. Praying it verbatim guards us from self-centred prayer; praying through it as an outline (lingering on each petition in your own words) keeps it from becoming mechanical.
Why does the prayer say “debts” while some churches say “trespasses”?
Matthew’s Greek uses “debts” (opheilēmata), picturing sin as what we owe; Luke 11:4 uses “sins.” “Trespasses” entered English usage from Matthew 6:14–15, where Jesus explains the prayer. All three describe the same reality — sin that needs forgiving — so the difference is translation, not doctrine.
What does “lead us not into temptation” mean if God doesn’t tempt anyone?
James 1:13 is clear that God tempts no one. The petition asks God to spare us from trials beyond our strength and to rescue us from the evil one’s schemes — an admission of weakness and a request for protection, which God delights to answer (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Final Thoughts
Fifty-seven words in English — and a whole spiritual life inside them. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us what to want (God’s glory, kingdom, and will), what to ask (bread, pardon, protection), and who we are when we pray (children, together, dependent, forgiven and forgiving). Pray it slowly this week — one line per day, perhaps — and let the most familiar prayer in the world become, again, the most demanding and the most comforting.
Want to Grow in Prayer With Others?
Prayer groups and fellowships meet across our parishes every week. Reach out and we’ll connect you to one near you.
Scripture quotations are drawn from the New International Version. Compiled by the Editorial Desk.