"Lord, teach us to pray." — Luke 11:1 (KJV)
The short answer
The Lord's Prayer is the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples, recorded in Matthew 6:9-13. It opens by honouring God as Father, seeks His kingdom and will, then asks for daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. Jesus gave it as a pattern for all praying — "After this manner therefore pray ye."
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against praying to be seen or heaping up empty words, and then gave His disciples something better: a short, complete prayer that teaches us what to ask and in what order. It has been called the Lord's Prayer, or the "Our Father," and Christians have prayed it for two thousand years. Below it is quoted exactly from the King James Version, followed by a walk through each petition.
What is the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6?
Here is the whole prayer, word-for-word, together with the words Jesus used to introduce it.
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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)
Notice the shape: it begins with God — His name, His kingdom, His will — and only then turns to our needs for bread, forgiveness, and protection. Prayer, Jesus teaches, is first about God and then about us.
How do we address God in prayer?
The prayer opens not with "Almighty" or "Sovereign" but with "Father" — and yet immediately with reverence, "which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." Intimacy and awe belong together.
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." — Matthew 6:9 (KJV)
To call God "Father" is to come as a beloved child, not a stranger; to say "Hallowed be thy name" is to ask that He be honoured as holy in our hearts and in the world. We approach boldly, but never carelessly.
What does it mean to pray "Thy kingdom come"?
Before asking for anything for ourselves, Jesus teaches us to long for God's reign and His purposes to prevail.
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." — Matthew 6:10 (KJV)
This petition realigns our hearts: we ask that God's rule would advance and His will be done here as perfectly as it is in heaven. It is a prayer that surrenders our agenda to His — and a prayer God delights to answer.
Why do we ask for daily bread?
Having sought God's kingdom first, we are free to bring Him our simplest, most physical needs. Nothing is too small to ask a Father who feeds His children.
"Give us this day our daily bread." — Matthew 6:11 (KJV)
The request is modest and present-tense: bread for this day, not a stockpile for the future. It trains us in daily dependence, trusting God to provide again tomorrow as He provides today.
How does the Lord's Prayer teach forgiveness?
At the centre of the prayer stands forgiveness — both received and given. Jesus ties the two together so closely that He returns to it as soon as the prayer ends.
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." — Matthew 6:12 (KJV)
We ask God to cancel the debt of our sin, and in the same breath commit to release those who have wronged us. A forgiven heart becomes a forgiving heart.
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." — Matthew 6:14 (KJV)
Jesus is not saying we earn forgiveness by forgiving; He is saying the mercy we have received cannot leave us unmerciful. Grace given always flows into grace shared.
What is the prayer for deliverance?
The prayer ends by acknowledging our weakness and God's strength — asking for protection, and then closing in praise.
"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 6:13 (KJV)
We ask to be kept from the pull of sin and rescued from the evil one, confessing that we cannot stand on our own. And we end where we began — with God, whose is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever. The prayer opens and closes in worship.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Lord's Prayer in the Bible?
The Lord's Prayer is the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV). It begins, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, and moves through petitions for God's kingdom and will, for daily bread, for forgiveness, and for deliverance from evil, closing, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. A shorter version also appears in Luke 11:2-4.
Did Jesus mean us to pray these exact words?
Both. Jesus introduced the prayer with the words After this manner therefore pray ye (Matthew 6:9, KJV), giving it as a pattern to shape all our praying. Yet the words themselves are so complete that Christians have prayed them exactly, word-for-word, for two thousand years. It is both a template to teach us how to pray and a prayer worth praying just as it stands.
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." — Matthew 6:13 (KJV)
Take it deeper
The Lord's Prayer is meant to be prayed, not just studied. FlickerFaith is a Scripture-first study companion — open it to read Matthew 6 in full context, compare the version in Luke 11, learn how each petition can shape your own praying, and bring your real requests to God line by line. It keeps you close to the Word, not away from it.
Keep reading
The Lord's Prayer belongs with the rest of Jesus's great teaching — read what the Bible says about the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and the Ten Commandments. To see how God speaks through Scripture itself, read what the Bible says about the Word of God. You can also browse all Bible topics, explore AI Bible study, or return home.