Verse
VERSE

The Lord’s Prayer

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day 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 evil.

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

Matthew 6:7-15
English Standard Version

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Do You Want to Know How to Pray?

Would you like to know how to pray?   

In the Bible, God does us an immense favor—he tells us how to relate to him. That’s what prayer is. It’s the privilege of talking to God. 

In the middle of his famous sermon in Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us how to pray. Many people see the Lord’s Prayer as what to pray. But Jesus told his audience, “This, then, is how you should pray” (v. 9 NIV).

To reach any goal, you have to know where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there. We hope the following questions, based on the Lord’s prayer, will help you think about where you are at in your prayer life, where Jesus wants you to go, and how to get there.  

Grab a pen and paper if you choose, open a note on your phone, or just read carefully—here’s the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ instruction to his followers on how to relate to their Heavenly Father. 

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil” (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV). 

Our Father in heaven: Who do you pray to? Do you know God as your Father? Jesus addresses God as Father, which reveals to us God’s tender, caring, providing, and protecting disposition toward those who trust him. 

Hallowed be your name: The Lord’s prayer starts with asking that God’s name be honored, and that must begin in your own heart. If you do not feel this way, ask him to help you by saying, “Lord, help my heart to want to honor you above all else.” 

Your kingdom come: Do you believe that God is the King who has brought his kingdom to earth? Do you belong to that kingdom? Ask him to help you understand this privilege.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: When we come to God, we need his help to genuinely desire his will above our own. Often times, we want both! Pray that God would put his desires in your heart so that the desires of your heart match his. He can change your heart and give you a heart like his own.   

Give us today our daily bread: Is prayer a daily activity for you? Do you see God as your primary provider, even for mundane, simple needs? What’s a pressing need you have today? Ask him for what you need and watch him provide!  

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors: Do you recognize your need to ask God for forgiveness? God wants us to be generous with our forgiveness and settle any offenses with others quickly. He has forgiven us, so we can pass his forgiveness along to others, knowing that we owe a great debt to his mercy.   

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one: Do you ask God for spiritual help—as well as practical help—when you pray? Every day we are tempted towards disobedience and rebellion against God. God wants us to depend on him in our fight against sin and delights to answer this kind of prayer.  

For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Jesus came to bring God’s children into God’s kingdom. He had to suffer and die for our rebellion against God, and he rose again to conquer death and pour out God's favor on those who trust him. His power also can break our will in a good way, that we might become willing subjects under God’s kind kingly rule. He came to transform sinners into children of God.   

God crowned Jesus King and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth. Everyone who bows the knee to King Jesus is welcomed into God’s family as one of his children, to call him Father. If that is not you, how should you pray today? Ask King Jesus to be your King and to forgive you of your debts. Believe in the God who invites you into a relationship with him. 

by Bibles.net

Compare Versions

ESV

"Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.'"

CSB

"Therefore, you should pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 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 do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"

NLT

"Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.'"

NIV

"This, then, is how you should pray: 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.""

KJV

"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.

NKJV

"In this manner, therefore, pray: 'Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'"
Videos

What Is the Lord's Prayer?
Article: 5 Min

How to Pray the Lord's Prayer

by Bibles.net

Article: 10 Min

How the Lord’s
Prayer Can Help
You Overcome
Your Prayer Struggles

by Kevin Halloran at The Gospel Coalition

Verse
MATTHEW 6:6 NIV

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Verse
LUKE 11:2-4 ESV

When you pray, say: 
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

Article: 10 Min

What Can We Learn From How Jesus Prayed?

by Daniel Darling at his blog

Our Father in Heaven...
Article: 10 Min

Addressing God As “Father”

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Message: 40 Min

The Basis of our Prayer:

Our Father

by Tim Keller

Hallowed be Your Name...
Message: 30 Min

Hallowed

Be Thy Name

by Tim Keller

Verse
MALACHI 1:11 ESV

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

Verse
Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Your Kingdom Come...
Image

Your kingdom come.
your will
be done

LUKE 11:2 NKJV
Verse
Daniel 7:27 NIV

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.

Image

The LORD has
established
his throne
in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

PSALM 103:19 ESV
Quote

Whose Kingdom Do You Pray For?

Consider the matter this way. Every time you pray you must say one of two things. Either you pray, “Your kingdom come,” or you pray, “My kingdom come.” Those are the only two possibilities. But note carefully: When you pray, “Your kingdom come,” you must of necessity also pray: “My kingdom go.” God’s kingdom cannot “come” unless your kingdom is going to “go”. They both can’t coexist at the same time and place.

by Ray Pritchard | Source
Your Will be Done...
Quote

There are only two kinds
of people in the end:
those who say to God,
“Thy will be done,”
and those to whom God
says, in the end,
“Thy will be done.”

Image

I delight
to do
your will,
Oh my God,
and your law
is within my heart.

Psalm 40:8 NKJV
Verse
ROMANS 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Quote

 It so often happens
that in prayer
we are really saying,
“Thy will be changed,”
when we ought
to be saying,
“Thy will be done.”
The first object
of prayer is not
so much to speak
to God as to
listen to him.

Give Us Our Daily Bread...
Article: 7 Min

The Lord’s Prayer and The Self-Made Man

by Daniel Darling at his blog

Verse
PROVERBS 30:7-9 NLT

O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Message: 40 Min

The Characteristics of God

by David Platt

Verse

EXODUS 16

Read the story of how we got the phrase, "daily bread," and where it first shows up in the Bible.
Verse
DEUTERONOMY 8:3 NIV

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Verse

JOHN 6: THE BREAD OF LIFE

Read how Jesus is the Bread of Life and what that means.
Forgive Us Our Debts...
Verse
MARK 11:25 NKJV

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

Image

Blessed
is the one whose transgression is
forgiven.

PSALM 32:1 ESV
Verse
MATTHEW 6:14-15 CSB

For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Article: 10 Min

“Forgive Us Our Debts”

by Daniel Darling at his blog

Verse

MATTHEW 18: A LESSON ON FORGIVENESS

Read Matthew 18:21-35 for Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant.
Verse
1 JOHN 1:8-9 NIV

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Lead Us Not into Temptation...
Image

The Lord
knows how
to
 deliver 
the godly
out of temptations

2 Peter 2:9 NKJV
Verse
1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Verse
2 TIMOTHY 4:17-19 ESV

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Verse
MATTHEW 26:41 NIV

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Article: 5 Min

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

by Charles Spurgeon at Blue Letter Bible

Deliver Us from the Evil One...
Verse
JOHN 17:15 NKJV

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

Contemporary

The Lord’s Prayer

by Jeremy Benjamin & The Body and Soul Collective
Verse
GALATIANS 1:3-5 NIV

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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