The Lord’s Prayer for Today

We read in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels about Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. This well-known passage is known as The Lord’s Prayer, also known as Our Father’s Prayer. You can read and memorize the Lord’s Prayer below because it was the example Jesus gave when asked how we should pray. While Christ gave us this prayer as a template, we must use it with the heartfelt seeking of God! Examine your own heart by thinking about the words of the Lord’s Prayer.

Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer

The Trinity’s Father-Son relationship indicates how we could relate to God. By the grace of adoption, Christ, the Son of God, gives us the opportunity to address God as Our Father (Galatians 4:4-7). The Christian is expected to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father since he or she is a “son of God.” We must remember that just because He made us doesn’t make God our father. Only those in a saving and intimate connection with Him—a communion that is only possible through the grace of adoption—can call Him Father.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14-17)

The term “daily” is essentially a false translation of the Greek word epiousios, which means “supersubstantial” or “above the essence.” The phrase “daily bread” refers to more than just bread for today’s needs; it also refers to bread for the Kingdom of God’s eternal day, which will provide food for our eternal soul. Christ is the living, super-substantial bread. We beg for the spiritual bread of eternal life in the Lord’s Prayer rather than only material sustenance for bodily health. (John 6:27–58 has more information about this.)

The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible

Numerous Christian sects, notably the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, employ the Lord’s Prayer (as a part of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer). The Our Father and Pater Noster are other names for the Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus Christ teaches us the Lord’s Prayer during the Sermon on the Mount, according to the accounts in Matthew and Luke.

The Lord Jesus gave us this brief prayer in response to one of his followers’ request that he explain how to pray. It summarizes Christian beliefs and behavior expectations.

In the New Testament, Matthew 6:9-13 says, “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. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

The Lord’s Prayer contains seven requests. The Lord’s Prayer provides us with a thorough summary of the divine teachings, and throughout scripture, the number seven frequently denotes completion and perfection.

Addressing the All-Powerful Father in Heaven at the start of the prayer. In this discourse, God serves as a reminder that he is our Heavenly Father. He is not only present with us in spirit; He is also in the perfect kingdom of Heaven above us.

As we pray to our Heavenly Father, this opening address brings Christians from all over the world together. Many individuals think that we must repeat the Lord’s Prayer verbatim. Some treat the Lord’s Prayer as a duty as if the words have mystical powers or influence over the Holy Spirit.

The opposite is, however, stated in the Bible. God is much more interested in the heart underlying our prayers than in the actual words.

We shouldn’t just recite sentences from memory to God during prayer; instead, we should be absolutely honest with Him. When we use prayer, there should be meaning behind our words because it is about the forgiveness of sins and a recognition of God’s love and grace.

Version of the Lord’s Prayer

The Traditional Version of the Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy 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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Contemporary Version of the Lord’s Prayer 

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Our Father prayer from scripture

Pray then in this way: 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 don’t bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others of their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6: 9-15).

The Steps Outlined in the Lord’s Prayer

1. Discuss God’s proper place as the Father.
2. Praise and worship God for who He is and what He has done.
3. Recognize that God’s will and plans are in control, not ours.
4. Pray to God for the things we require.
5. We must confess and repent of our sins.
6. Ask for protection and assistance in overcoming sin and Satan’s attacks on us.

Bible Verses About the Lord & Prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Psalm 145:18 – The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Proverbs 15:29 – The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.