What is the Lord's Prayer and where does it come from?

The Lord's Prayer (also called the Our Father) is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6:9-13 as part of the Sermon on the Mount. A shorter version also appears in Luke 11:2-4. Jesus gave it as a model — a pattern for how to pray — not a rote recitation. It covers six essential movements: God's character, God's kingdom, daily needs, forgiveness, deliverance from evil, and a closing doxology in some manuscripts.

What does 'hallowed be thy name' mean?

'Hallowed' means 'set apart as holy' or 'treated as sacred.' The Greek word is hagiastheto, from hagios (holy). This line is a request: may your name be treated as holy in this world — meaning, may people come to know and reverence who you truly are. It's asking God to be glorified in and through everything that follows in the prayer.

What does 'thy kingdom come, thy will be done' mean?

This is a single unified request. The kingdom of God is wherever God's reign is fully realized. 'Thy kingdom come' asks for that reality to expand — in the world, in society, and in the heart of the person praying. 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven' makes the scope explicit: the total, joyful, unresisted obedience of heaven should become the reality of earth. It's a radical, world-shaping prayer.

What does 'lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil' mean?

This line is sometimes confusing because James 1:13 says God doesn't tempt anyone. The Greek word peirasmos means both 'temptation' and 'trial.' The request is not that God would never test us, but that he would not let us be led into a trial beyond our strength (compare 1 Corinthians 10:13). 'Deliver us from evil' (or 'the evil one' — the Greek poneros is ambiguous) asks for active rescue from spiritual danger.

Is the doxology ('for thine is the kingdom...') in the original Bible?

The doxology — 'For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.' — appears in some later Greek manuscripts of Matthew 6:13 but is absent from the earliest manuscripts and from Luke's version. Most scholars believe it was a liturgical addition used in early Christian worship. It is spiritually rich and fully consistent with Scripture, but was likely not part of Jesus' original teaching.

The Lord's Prayer Meaning: Every Line Explained (Matthew 6:9-13)

By BibleNow Team | Last Updated: April 2026 | 11-minute read

Why This Prayer Has Lasted 2,000 Years

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…"

Billions of people have prayed these words across twenty centuries, in hundreds of languages, in cathedrals and prison cells, in dying breaths and first prayers. The Lord's Prayer is the most prayed prayer in human history. But many people who pray it regularly could not explain what each line actually means.

That's worth fixing.

Jesus introduced this prayer in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), his most extensive public teaching. He had just criticized two prayer mistakes: praying to be seen by others (Matthew 6:5) and using empty repetition to impress God with sheer volume of words (Matthew 6:7). Then he said, "This, then, is how you should pray" (Matthew 6:9) — and gave a model, not a mandate for recitation.

Understanding each line transforms the prayer from a ritual into a living conversation.

The Full Text (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

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.

Line by Line: What Each Part Means

"Our Father in heaven"

The prayer begins with the most intimate possible address. In first-century Judaism, God was typically addressed as "Lord," "God of our fathers," or "the Holy One." Calling God Father — and especially Abba (the Aramaic intimate form Jesus used in Mark 14:36) — was revolutionary.

The Greek Pater hemon (Our Father) is deliberately communal: our Father, not just my Father. This anchors every prayer in the community of faith. We don't approach God as isolated individuals but as members of a family.

"In heaven" establishes that this Father is not merely a warm human authority figure — he is transcendent, all-powerful, and the source of ultimate reality.

"Hallowed be your name"

Hagiastheto to onoma sou — literally, "let your name be made holy." In Hebrew thought, a name was not just a label; it was a representation of the entire person. To hallow God's name is to ask that God's actual character — his holiness, love, justice, faithfulness — be truly known and reverenced in the world.

This is a petition, not a statement. We're asking God to act in the world in ways that reveal who he really is, and asking to be part of that revelation.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"

These two clauses are parallel and inseparable. The "kingdom of God" in Jesus' teaching is not a physical territory — it is the rule and reign of God wherever his will is fully done. In heaven, God's will is done completely, joyfully, without resistance. This line prays: let that same completeness come to earth.

This is an eschatological prayer — it anticipates the full consummation of God's rule at the end of history. But it also has present implications: every time a person forgives, or seeks justice, or acts with integrity, a small piece of "kingdom come" is realized.

"Give us today our daily bread"

Ton arton hemon ton epiousion — the Greek word epiousion is unusual and appears almost nowhere else in ancient literature. It likely means "the bread we need for today" or "bread for the coming day." The key word is today.

This line embraces human dependence. In the wilderness, Israel received manna one day at a time — gathering extra spoiled. This prayer is in that tradition: trust God for today's provision, not anxious hoarding for an uncertain future. It covers more than food — it asks for everything genuinely needed for life.

It's also again in the plural — "give us." This is not just a personal prayer for your own pantry; it carries implicit concern for those who genuinely lack bread.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"

The Greek aphes hemin ta opheilemata hemon uses the word opheilemata — debts. Sin is being understood here as something owed: a moral debt to God and to others. To be forgiven is to have that debt canceled.

The most striking feature of this line is what immediately follows it. After the prayer, Jesus pauses to comment on only one clause: forgiveness. "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

This is not a works-based transaction. It is a description of the kind of person who truly understands grace. Someone who has genuinely received God's forgiveness is formed into someone who extends forgiveness. These are linked because they flow from the same source.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"

The Greek word peirasmos carries a dual meaning: it can mean temptation (an inducement to sin) or trial (a testing situation). Since James 1:13 clarifies that God does not tempt anyone to sin, Jesus is likely asking that we would not be led into situations of testing that exceed our strength (see 1 Corinthians 10:13: "God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear").

"The evil one" (poneros in Greek) can mean either "evil" as an abstract force or "the Evil One" as a personal being — i.e., Satan. Either reading is consistent with the rest of Scripture. The request is for active divine rescue from spiritual danger.

The Doxology: "For Thine Is the Kingdom…"

Many traditions add: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." This doxology (literally "word of glory") is found in some later manuscripts but absent from the earliest ones and from Luke's parallel account. Scholars generally consider it a liturgical addition from early Christian worship practice.

Theologically, it echoes 1 Chronicles 29:11 and is perfectly consistent with the rest of Scripture. Many Christians find it a natural and fitting close. Its secondary textual status doesn't make it wrong to pray — it just helps us understand where it came from.

The Prayer's Structure: What It Covers

Looking at the whole prayer, it moves through six essential movements:

Section	Content
Address	Who God is (Father, heavenly)
First petition	God's reputation in the world
Second petition	God's reign and will
Third petition	Present, daily needs
Fourth petition	Past sins forgiven
Fifth petition	Future protection

Notice: the prayer begins with God (who he is, what he wants) before turning to human needs. This ordering is itself a lesson in prayer posture.

How to Pray the Lord's Prayer Personally

The Lord's Prayer is most powerful when you slow down and let each line become your own words. Try this approach:

"Our Father in heaven" — remind yourself who you're talking to and that you're not alone in this
"Hallowed be your name" — ask God to show up in your day in a way that makes his character clear
"Your kingdom come, your will be done" — surrender one specific area of your life where you've been fighting his will
"Give us today our daily bread" — name something specific you need today
"Forgive us our debts" — bring something specific to confess; then name someone you need to forgive
"Lead us not into temptation" — identify one specific vulnerability you want God's protection around

Six lines. Six specific things. A complete prayer in under five minutes.

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