The Lord’s Prayer

⁹Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread,
¹²and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:9-15

Matthew’s Gospel records “The Lord’s Prayer” during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s Gospel records it as Jesus’ response to the disciples’ request: “Teach us to pray.” In either case, these are instructions from Jesus himself on how to address God in prayer. Jesus’ teaching is a timeless template for how His followers, even us today, are to relate to God.

In the Lord’s Prayer, there are two main movements for our hearts to follow – upward (perhaps better put, “Godward”) orientation (verses 9-10) precedes inward and outward orientation (verses 11-13). The principle that stands out here is this: intimacy comes before request.

Above all else, God simply wants our hearts…and then, he wants us to ask.

Within those two main movements, there are four sub-movements: praise, intercession, petition, and spiritual warfare. Jesus teaches us to pray through this grid as we – beginners in prayer – journey deeper into friendship with God.

Movements of the Lord’s Prayer: