The Lord's Prayer

Exploring its meaning line by line

The Lord's Prayer

This version of the Lord's Prayer, as found in The Book of Common Prayer, comes from the Gospel of Luke.

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

Calling it The Lord's Prayer may lead us to think the wrong thing. It's our prayer, given to us by the Lord. It's not his prayer. He's not saying, "This is the one that I pray." He's saying, "This is the one you should pray."

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Father, hallowed be your name," he suggested many things at once about us disciples and our relationship to God.

YOUR KINGDOM COME 
"Your Kingdom Come"—three short words, which are undoubtedly familiar to you. You have probably said them a thousand times. What I hope to offer today are some insights about why I believe the Kingdom of God is a surprise.

YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN 
God's will in heaven is love. God's will on earth is Love. Love is God's very nature.

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD
As we say, "Give us today our daily bread," what we're asking is that God would enter each day into our very being, giving us the Spirit of peace and power, without which there is no life worth living.

FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US 
Can/should you forgive me if I have wronged you but I am unrepentant, if I am anything but contrite? Yes, because if you don't forgive me we both are dragging those big awful weights around, but if you do forgive me in your heart, at least you will be free of life-deadening weight.

SAVE US FROM THE TIME OF TRIAL, AND DELIVER US FROM EVIL
"Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil." When we pray these words, we become bold enough to ask God to give us, forgive us, and don't test us, deliver us. But I think we are also saying, "We can do nothing without you God." In short, we are confessing that without God we are nothing.

FOR THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY ARE YOURS, NOW AND FOR EVER 
The phrase, "For yours is the Kingdom and the power and glory forever and ever. Amen." is probably the oldest piece of Christian writing after the New Testament itself.