Question 41: What is the Lord’s Prayer?

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 evil.

Matthew 6:9:

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. . . .”

Commentary

Martin Luther

Do you, however, feel weak and timid? for flesh and blood always hinder faith, as if you were not worthy or fit and in earnest to pray; or do you doubt whether God has heard you, because you are a sinner? then cling to the word and say: Though I am a sinner and unworthy, yet I have the command of God, that tells me to pray, and his promise that he will graciously hear me, not because of my worthiness, but for the sake of the Lord Christ. By this means you can drive away the thoughts and doubts, and cheerfully kneel down and pray, not regarding your worthiness or unworthiness, but your need and his word upon which he tells you to build; especially since he has placed before you and put into your mouth the words how and what you are to pray for, so that you joyously send up these prayers through him, and can lay them in his bosom, that he may lay them by his own worthiness before the Father.

Juan Sanchez

When Jesus’s disciples asked him to teach them to pray, Jesus gave them a model prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer, but really it’s the Lord’s model prayer. It is the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

When we say, “Our Father,” we remember that the God who created the universe is our Father in heaven. He is the Father who provides. He is the Father who sustains. He is the Father who protects. And the prayer reminds us that we are able to run to our Father to let our needs be known.

But Jesus also reminded us that he’s not only our Father but he’s also our King. So when we say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done,” we realize our Father is the King. We’re coming to our Father, who is the King of the universe, who has complete and total authority over all things. Our focus must first and foremost be on our Father, who is King. And the greatest joy for his children is that his name would be hallowed, that his name would be famous. And so we should pray, “God, make your name famous.” The Lord’s Prayer is also a corporate prayer. “Our Father” reminds us that we’re not an only child. Our desire is to make sure his name is hallowed over all the earth. Ultimately, this world is not our home, and we long for his kingdom to finally and fully be established. But until then, Jesus reminded us that we can go to our Father. When we fail our Father, when we fail our King, we can ask for forgiveness.

The Lord’s model prayer instructs us that we are utterly dependent upon our Father for all of our daily needs. I think modern-day people tend to forget this. Jesus said to pray in this way: “Give us this day our daily bread.” That is very humbling.

Finally, until God’s kingdom comes we need to understand that we are engaged in a spiritual battle, and we need protection. We ask our King to protect us. In fact, the apostle Paul reminds us that in this spiritual warfare that we don’t put on our armor, we put on God’s armor (Eph. 6:10–18). We put on our King’s armor. We put on our Father’s armor, and we fight in the strength of our Father. So it is right and good for us—whatever our needs or circumstances may be—to remember that we are utterly dependent, moment by moment, breath by breath, on our Father King, and we can run to him. We can come to him, and we can ask him for the things that we need.

As long as we have breath in us, let us live to make the King’s name famous, to hallow his name, both as a church and also as individual Christians, longing for his kingdom to come. Let us long for the return of Jesus, but know that until that day comes, he will pardon our sin, he will provide our daily bread, and he will protect us from the Evil One.

Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, when we pray the prayer that you taught us, keep us from reciting empty words. Let these petitions be the cries of our hearts. Bring your kingdom on earth to us and through us for your great name’s sake. Amen.