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Understanding the Lord’s Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Most of us probably know the Lord’s prayer by heart. It’s okay if you don’t, though. Because honestly, even if you have it memorized, it doesn’t mean you understand it! Walk through this quick unpacking of the most famous prayer in the Bible — the one Jesus teaches us to use.

The Lord’s Prayer in the Amplified Translation

He said to them, “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 also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended or wronged us]. And lead us not into temptation [but rescue us from evil].’” Luke 11:2-4 AMP

The Lord’s prayer illustrates the variety of requests that one can and should make to God, as well as displaying the humble attitude that should accompany prayer. The use of the plural pronoun us throughout the prayer shows that it is not just the prayer of one person for his or her own personal needs, but a community prayer.

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME

Hallowed definition: to make holy, or to acknowledge as holy.

This prayer starts with giving God the honor and praise He deserves.

YOUR KINGDOM COME

The references here is to God’s program and promise. This is more affirmation than request, highlighting the petitioner’s submission to God’s will and the desire to see God’s work come to pass.

FOR WE OURSELVES ALSO FORGIVE

The petitioner recognizes that if mercy is to be sought from God, then mercy must be shown to others. We need to adopt the same standard that we expect others to follow.

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

This remark is often misunderstood as suggesting that perhaps God can lead us into sin. The point is that if one is to avoid sin, one must follow where God leads. In short, the petitioner asks God for the spiritual protection necessary to avoid falling into sin.

Which part of the Lord’s prayer resonates most with you?

Learn More About the Lord’s Prayer and Other Things

If you’ve never read from the Amplified Bible, we find it to be particularly helpful during your devotional time. If you’re stuck on a verse or paragraph, the AMP is helpful in breaking things down in more words. The Amplified Study Bible is its companion, filled with helpful notes like the ones above. You can use it in tandem with the AMP or any other Bible translation you prefer.

Find more content like this in the Amplified Study Bible.

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51 Comments

  1. Carla Sewer

    God has already forgiven our sins so we must give thanks for the forgiveness of sins and for strength to forgive those who have sinned against us and persecuted us. God does not lead us into temptation and saves us from all evil.

    • Ruby Warnell

      Amen sister, and if we follow his path we heaven bound

    • Josese Bisavakauca

      I believe that sin will remain unless it is confessed so it is important that we keep coming to the Lord with humility and a contrite spirit asking God for His forgiveness. In 1 John 1:9 it says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The key word there is “If” so as sinners we need to keep confessing even though He has died for our sins in Calvary. Does that mean that I can do anything I want knowing that He will always forgive me? No, once we understand what it took for our sins to be forgiven it should compel us to follow in His footsteps and try to live a life worthy of His name. We don’t have the power to overcome our sinful desires because it is the nature of the flesh so we need to get closer to the Lord through prayer, fasting and understanding His word. The closer we get to our holy God, the more we realize our sinful nature which should continually bring us to the foot of the cross and ask for His forgiveness.

      • Andre Bourgoin

        I couldn’t have said it any better or more profound! God Bless You ???

        • Hansen

          Of the Perfect will of the Father came the baptizer John, for the meeting with the Perfect Son Jesus, in the Jordan river, that the everlasting, Perfect statute, of all righteousness could be actuated saving all of Adams children first born under the judgement of death, for sin.
          The Word can not say any better such a profound act of Loving sacrifice.
          May your faith be further rooted in His Word.
          God’s peace!

      • DAVID MESSINGER, SR.

        “I believe that sin will remain unless it is confessed…” (Your words)

        This is a works (Law) focused forgiveness, based on me asking Jesus to forgive me. When Jesus died on the Cross, all of our sin was future tense. Jesus forgave all sin, past, present and future. Then He said, “τετέλεσται”, It Is Finished. This is not a license to sin. To confess means that we agree with Jesus, that in fact we have sinned and continue to sin because of our sin nature. Read how Paul dealt with this issue in Romans Chapters 7 and 8. If one believes that the application of forgiveness is based on me confessing every sin, I couldn’t sleep. I relax in His Love, but I also remember who I am, a sinner who has been saved by Jesus’ Grace.
        Eph. 2:8-9 –
        8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

        In Christ, David

        • Keith-Allen Afong

          Well said brother David! God bless

    • The Word Revealed

      I believe that God has already made provision for forgiveness of our sins: but for us to receive that forgiveness we must confess our sins and repent from them. Only then can God truly know that we are ready for forgiveness. No wonder he said “as we forgive our debtors” thus proving that we are worthy of forgiveness

      • tom kubilius

        I think its also the fact that we have been given so profound a forgiveness, a forgiveness so big, that makes us recognize how much we should forgive in others…

  2. Kathleen

    Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name…….starting out prayer with worship to our Lord and King, Creator of the heavens and earth, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the alpha and omega helps put everything else into perspective. And then ending our prayer with worship, “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!”. I love to worship our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! I am not worthy to worship Him but He is worthy to be worshiped! There’s something about worship that ushers in healing, revelation, hope and strength.

    • Wendell Hendershott

      The address is not to a heavenly king, but to abba, our poppa, our daddy, our loving parent. The privilege of this prayer is to be able to come to God in the confidence of his parental love as a child may trust its father or mother.

      • Bernard Suide

        I agree with you whole heartedly. We can go directly to Him because of the access granted by our Saviour. He is our Father and I am happy to know that I am His child.

        • Renee

          Hi, I only just came to the realisation that the Lords Prayer is addressed to Jesus and not to Abba Father. The latter is Jehovah’s Witness Faith and we need to STOP It!

    • Kent C.

      Your comment of “not being worthy” is how I once felt. The Holy Spirit told me that I am worthy by the blood of the Lamb! Unworthiness comes from guilt. When we sin against someone, we have to ask forgiveness from 3 persons: the person we sin against, Jesus and ourselves. We can hold ourselves bound by the unforgiveness, which makes us feel unworthy! You are Worthy! You are Holy (separate and distinct) because of the Lord!

      • PAUL Jepsen

        Your can and should acknowledge your sins but they were forgiven on the cross when he took away thr sins of the world.

    • FRANK L BOBO

      I agree , we acknowledge that our Creator as our Source of life. Everything is possible with our Lord and Savior.

    • Renee

      Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️MUCH!

  3. GeriLisa Walter

    It is the complete prayer that first recognizes God, His honor, His will and His purpose…… followed by our petitions for ourselves, as well as our forgiveness–and that from those we’ve wronged….then asking for protection in our journey. Couldn’t be more perfect! Christ, Himself told us how to pray and what to pray…..all we have to, is pray it personal……like we mean it.

  4. Kim Samuels

    Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…

    I long to see the Kingdom of God – righteousness, peace, joy –
    working in my life just as in heaven

  5. Alain Chabourel

    Do we measure how small is “thanks Lord…” in regards to what He accomplishes each day for us?

  6. Llywellyn

    The Lord’s Prayer is a for me a wonderful example of the way in which Scripture remains ever new no matter how many times you have read, heard and prayed it.

    At the moment the line that touches me most deeply is “Thy Kingdom come”. On this phrase Pope Benedict XVI writes in his beautiful and powerful exploration of the Lord’s Prayer in ‘Jesus of Nazareth’: “With the petition “thy Kingdom come” (not “our kingdom come”), the Lord wants to show us how to pray and order our action in just this way. The first and essential thing is a listening heart, so that God, not we, may reign. The Kingdom of God comes by way of a listening heart. That is its path, and that is what we must pray for again and again”.

    His whole reflection on The Lord’s Prayer renewed and deepened my appreciation of it, but this aspect has really stuck with me.

  7. Sally

    The Lords prayer is a staple of mine as it encompasses everything I believe in and the main message underneath it all is Gods love for all

  8. Scott Stevens

    “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”
    In this fallen world of self-actualization and promotion, it serves a a constant reminder of where our dreams, efforts and attentions should lie. I find this so fitting with Christ’s direction to deny ourselves and pick up our crosses daily…not for our benefit and glory but that of the Father

  9. Jennifer

    “give us this day our daily bread”. The Lord will only give us what we can handle today. Nothing more, nothing less. I know whatever comes my way today, the Lord has me covered. He knew what I needed for this day long before it even started.

    • Andrea

      Jennifer, this is so true. When people get stressed because of having to much on their plate it is because we put it there, when we should just focus on what the Lord gives us for the day.

  10. Dennis M Schaefer

    As my learning of Christianity increases the Lord’s prayer reminds me of an acronym I use when I pray. ACTS. A stands for acknowledge the Lord before anything else. C stands for confess all sins. T stands for give thanksgiving to Him. Lastly, S stands for supplication. This puts it all in perspective for me and puts God first and me last.

  11. Rosanna WKefield

    Thy kingdom come, thy will be done: each time I pray these words I thrill to the thought that I join with millions of other unseen people praying for God’s loving kingdom will be seen and felt on earth by the way we live our lives for him. Such is the power of our united prayer.

  12. 'Gwenda

    To really know the Father, in a personal way is such a joy. This is only possible of course by accepting Jesus as Saviour, for He said that, “No man comes to the Father but by Me”. He is the only “door” to come to the Father. Then the access we have to the Father is limitless as we obediently “walk in the light”.

  13. Claire Bell

    Hallowed be thy name. I used to slip through this phrase without thought until I read Kenneth Bailey’s book ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’. How often is God’s name dishonoured in this world? I pray that line now with a desire to honour Him in all my words and deeds. Like the next line, it is a statement of truth, a personal commitment and a vision for the future God is preparing.

  14. Bob

    As wonderful as the Lord’s Prayer is, it should not be quoted verbatim today. The reason is the part “thy Kingdom come”. Since Christ uttered this prayer the Kingdom (the Church) has in fact come. Please refer to Acts chapter 2 when the promised kingdom / church came at Pentecost. The gospel was preached, and 3,000 were “baptized for the remission of sins”, whom the Lord added to His church – the Kingdom, the Body – to be saved. Today, we as penitent believers who confess Him, are still added by Christ to his Kingdom / the Church through this exact same process…baptism (immersion in water) for the forgiveness of our sins. Belief alone is not enough.
    Please also refer to Mark 9:1, where the audience was told “some of you will not taste death until the Kingdom has come with power”. This too is a reference to the approaching Acts chapter 2, when the Kingdom did in fact come, with power.

    So again, for this reason, that part of the Lord’s Prayer no longer applies. It was forward-looking to an event which has since come.

    • Dave

      Bob I am sorry but I beg to defer. Jesus is talking about his second coming where his kingdom will come in true form.

      Witty

  15. Mike Brogan

    When God’s will is done on earth, as it is in heaven, then all else will fall into it’s right place. I long for that day!

  16. Tinei Kaiyo

    The verse that says ‘give us our daily bread’ resonates for me. With each new day, we need to be strengthened and equipped to serve the Lord and so in as much as our daily bread refers to our daily sustainance, it can also be a specific word for that day, a trial that will produce patience and perseverance or even some kind of suffering which causes us to identify with Christ. We know that all these things will produce the necessary faith and an understanding of God’s grace and mercy, which will enable us to keep fighting the good fight, especially in these days that we are living in. Our goal as Christians is to be like Christ, hence God knows what we need to reach that goal. So if my manna for today is a difficult situation, then I must be careful not to despise it as the children of Israel did in the desert. Let’s all remember that ‘ALL things work together for the good of those that love Him’

    May the Lord bless you and keep you in all things!

  17. Simeon

    For interest sake, just put side to side the ten commandments and the Lord’s prayer. You will discover a similar attitude, structure and purposes regarding what God expects of us.

  18. IBHADORE KELVIN JOSHUA

    ‘FATHER, HALLOWED BE THY NAME. It gives me joy that i have a father in heaven i will go and meet after leaving this wicked world. His name is so precious that it covers every area of our lives. Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Elohim. My heart always leap for Joy at the name of my father in heaven, and so also, demons and tongues tremble at the name of my Father in heaven, Hallelujah, what a joy.

  19. Rando

    Amen! “The Lord’s Prayer” is not the Lord’s prayer but is a great example of how we should pray, just as He gave it as a teaching example for His disciples on how to pray (Lk.11:1).
    To read the real Lord’s prayer see John 17 where He prays for Himself, His disciples, and all believers 🙂

  20. Jacob Huizenga

    “Our Father who art in heaven,
    Hallowed be thy name.
    Thy kingdom come.
    Thy will be done”
    These four lines are the essence of the prayer, our earthly mission and standing with God. The rest is descriptive and adjective. We are here to live for God, not ourselves. We should not desire for ourselves evil, temptation, or unforgiving lives. We should not desire for ourselves more than daily bread.
    A Christian is one who lives for God rather than for himself.

  21. Paul

    Wonderful post, but it’s really great to see all the reactions in the comments.

    You should do a piece bringing it all together!

  22. Minnie James

    Amen ..OurFathers Prayer is the Prayer I say every night before I go to sleep this is my favorite prayer

  23. Roshanda

    This is not the Lord’s prayer. This is a guideline for prayer.

  24. Marefe conde

    We should praise the Lord with all our heart and accept Jesus as your saviour .ask wisdom ,knowledge ,understanding and the discerning heart to understands what is God’s will for us..Walk in peace,in the name of Yeshua’s the Lord of the messiah…Hallelujah to the highest 🙏🏻🙏🏻