What we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-14 NIV) is really the disciples’ prayer. It is not what Jesus prayed but a model Jesus gave to His followers for how they should pray. It is not a prayer to be recited mindlessly (although reciting it occasionally is not a bad idea), but an outline of the things that we should pray about. That we need this outline is obvious because too often our prayers follow an outline that reads something like this: “Our Father, give us today our daily bread, and forgive our sins, and deliver us from evil.” Let’s look at the individual elements of the model prayer that Jesus gave us.

Our Father in Heaven. Our focus should first of all be on God, not on our list of requests. We need to recognize who we are praying to. We are not praying to some idea of God of our own imagining or the god of some other religion, but to the true God revealed in the Bible. “Our Father in Heaven” has two aspects. God is our loving Father, the one who loved us enough to save us. But He is also Almighty God, the God who demands justice and judges what we do and what we think. And He is “our” Father, not just “my Father.” He is the God who loves and judges everyone in the world. We do not come to Him alone but in company with all other believers in all times and places.

Hallowed be your name. This is really a prayer or declaration of affirmation meaning “May your name be sacred, holy.” “Holy” means “separate” or “different.” This means that God is greater than other gods and that God is wiser, more righteous, more loving, and more powerful than we are and therefore worthy of worship. This prayer here follows the pattern of the Ten Commandments, God’s Old Testament covenant with His people. That covenant begins with establishing who God is (“I am the Lord your God”) and then states: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2,7). God’s name is holy. This petition in the Lord’s Prayer just asks that people (especially those praying) will recognize it. This phrase thus reminds us that when we pray, we should approach God with great reverence. 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This follows the pattern of the two greatest commandments—to love God and love people (Matthew 22:34-40). God comes first and then His kingdom because without God there can be no kingdom. A good example of praying for the kingdom of God is found in Colossians 4:2-4. Paul was in prison facing death, but he did not pray for his own deliverance but for the extension of the kingdom: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Praying for God’s kingdom to come is not a prayer for the end of the world to come. Rather, it is a prayer that God will be obeyed, in ourselves and in the whole world. It is not a prayer just for “out there” but also “starting in here.”

Give us today our daily bread. Prayer is not intended to force God to change, but it is submitting ourselves to God and allowing Him to change us. Nevertheless, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray for our needs. “Daily bread” should remind us of manna, the food God provided each day to the people of Israel in the wilderness. We would like to be able to build up a surplus in order to have future security, but our long-term security is Jesus, and we need to depend on Him each day. When Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000, He gave them food for one day, one meal. We should also take note of the “us” in this petition. The manna and the feeding of the 5,000 were communal meals. We should pray for daily bread for all people, and we are expected to share. If everyone prospers, we will prosper.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…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. The focus of the Prayer has moved from God to ourselves, but the model should cause us to reconsider our own prayers and our priorities. Do we pray as much for spiritual health as for physical health? There is only one petition here for physical health (Give us our daily bread) and three for spiritual health (Forgive us, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil). It is important and necessary that we pray for forgiveness but even more important that we pray for help to keep us from sinning. The petition for forgiveness is sobering. When we pray, “Forgive us as we forgive others,” we are really praying that God will condemn us if we do not forgive! The requirement for us to forgive others could not be stated more forcefully.

Lead us not into temptation. Testing is not seducing us to sin, although it can result in that. Teachers do not give exams so students will fail but so they can prove that they have learned. When Jesus asked Philip how they would feed a hungry multitude, “He asked this only to test him” (John 6:5-6)—Jesus asked a rhetorical question to examine Philip’s spiritual understanding. Paul posed a similar challenge in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” Peter told Christians that they should expect testing: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). The book of Revelation also talks about Christians facing testing: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10) and “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10). Some so-called believers fail the test: “Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away” (The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:13). But some pass the test: “Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test” (Romans 16:10).

When we pray “Lead us not into temptation,” is this a prayer that we will not be tested or a prayer that we will not fail when tested? In one sense, it is an admission that we are weak and in danger of failing if we are tested and therefore in need of God’s help. Jesus told His disciples shortly before they betrayed Him: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Paul advised: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). James taught: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:2-5).

Jesus Himself was tested in the wilderness by Satan and by the questions of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. In each case, He passed the test, and He can help us pass the test if we ask for His help.

Deliver us from the evil one. It is not just that we sin, but there really is an evil power that wants us to fail. The same evil power that seduced Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden also seeks to cause us to fall. The reality of this evil power needs to be recognized and prayed against. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). We cannot defeat the forces of evil on our own. Only God can do that, and that is why we need to pray.