The Lord’s Prayer, also called the Our Father, is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4. It praises God’s name and asks for His kingdom, His will, our daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil.
What is the Lord’s Prayer?
The Lord’s Prayer is the model of Christian prayer, because it teaches not only what to say but how to come to God. It begins with worship, moves to surrender, asks for daily needs, seeks mercy, and ends with dependence on God’s help. That simple movement is why the prayer stays rich for Catholics, Protestants, families, teachers, and anyone learning to pray.
Christians pray it in personal devotion, Sunday worship, the Catholic Mass, the Rosary, school, and bedtime prayer. Some call it “the Our Father,” after its opening words; others call it “the Lord’s Prayer,” because it comes from the Lord Jesus Himself.
The traditional English text
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Many Christians memorize this version because its rhythm is familiar and reverent. Its older words, such as “art,” “thy,” and “hallowed,” sound formal today, but they also help us slow down and remember that prayer is worship, trust, confession, and surrender.
Matthew 6:9–13 in the King James Version
Matthew’s Gospel gives the fuller form used in many traditions:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 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, for ever. Amen.
The KJV includes the closing doxology, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.” That ending is one reason the prayer can sound different when Catholics and Protestants pray it together.
The Lord’s Prayer explained line by line
Each phrase of this short prayer teaches something about God, about us, and about the life of a disciple.
- “Our Father”: Jesus teaches us to approach God personally and together. “Father” speaks of closeness, care, and authority; “our” reminds us that Christian prayer is never isolated.
- “who art in heaven”: God is near enough to be called Father, yet exalted above all creation. The phrase holds tenderness and reverence together.
- “hallowed be thy name”: To hallow God’s name is to honor it as holy. The prayer begins with adoration, not with our needs.
- “thy kingdom come”: We ask for God’s reign to be revealed more fully in the world and in our hearts: justice, holiness, mercy, and the final restoration of all things.
- “thy will be done”: We ask to want what God wants. This is surrender, not passivity, choosing to trust God’s wisdom above our own preferences.
- “on earth as it is in heaven”: In heaven God’s will is obeyed completely. We ask that our families, churches, work, and decisions be shaped by the same obedience.
- “give us this day our daily bread”: At the simplest level, we ask for what we need today: food, provision, and strength. Catholics also hear in it the Eucharist, the Bread of Life by which Christ gives Himself to His people.
- “forgive us our trespasses”: We ask for God’s mercy. Translations say “debts,” “trespasses,” or “sins,” and each shows a true side of wrongdoing: what we owe, the boundaries we cross, and how we offend God.
- “as we forgive those who trespass against us”: Receiving mercy is tied to giving it. We do not earn forgiveness by being flawless; forgiven people are called to become forgiving people.
- “lead us not into temptation”: A humble request for God to keep us from spiritual danger, admitting our weakness and asking for grace before the moment of testing comes.
- “but deliver us from evil”: We ask God to rescue us from evil in every form: sin, deception, harm, and the power of the evil one.
Taken together, the prayer is a pattern: worship first, then surrender, provision, reconciliation, guidance, and rescue.
Why do Catholics and Protestants end it differently?
Catholics and Protestants pray the same core prayer, but the ending differs because of manuscript history and liturgical practice. Many Protestants add “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever,” a doxology found in later manuscripts of Matthew and included in the KJV.
Catholics usually pray the Our Father without that ending. At Mass, though, Catholics do pray a doxology moments later: after the priest’s prayer for deliverance and peace, the people respond, “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever.” The words are there in the liturgy, just not attached directly to the Our Father.
This difference is not a contradiction in faith. Both traditions honor the same prayer Jesus taught; the distinction comes from textual tradition, translation history, and where the prayer sits in worship.
Praying it slowly
The Lord’s Prayer can become so familiar that the words pass our lips before our hearts catch up. Praying it slowly restores attention. Pause after each phrase: after “Our Father,” remember who you are speaking to; after “thy will be done,” name a situation you need to surrender; after “forgive us,” ask honestly for mercy.
A simple slow-prayer practice:
- Begin with one deep breath and the sign of reverence your tradition uses.
- Pray one phrase at a time instead of rushing through the whole prayer.
- After “daily bread,” name one need for today, just today.
- After “as we forgive,” bring one strained relationship before God.
- End with a moment of quiet trust before saying “Amen.”
For a visible reminder in a home, classroom, or prayer corner, a Lord’s Prayer wall plaque or framed Lord’s Prayer wall art keeps the words close to daily life.
Teaching the Our Father to children
Children usually learn the Our Father by repetition, but they understand it when adults explain small pieces over time. Connect each phrase to ordinary life: God is our Father, bread is what we need, forgiveness heals what is broken, and God helps us choose what is good.
Ways to teach children:
- Use call and response: Say a short phrase and let the child repeat it.
- Explain one line a day: Keep the meaning simple and concrete.
- Add gestures: Open hands for “daily bread,” folded hands for forgiveness, eyes lifted for “in heaven.”
- Make it part of bedtime: The prayer becomes familiar in a peaceful routine.
- Use a children’s book: The Our Father board book helps parents, grandparents, catechists, and teachers.
Children also learn by watching adults pray. A rushed prayer teaches one thing; a calm, loving prayer teaches another.
The Our Father in the Rosary and daily devotion
In the Rosary, the Our Father is prayed at the start of each decade, before the ten Hail Marys. Each decade begins by turning to the Father before meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life with Mary. For Catholics, the Lord’s Prayer becomes a repeated doorway into contemplation; our guide on how to pray the Rosary walks through it step by step.
Some people wear a reminder, such as an Our Father prayer bracelet, as a prompt to pray it during the day: in the car, at work, or before a hard conversation.
The prayer Jesus taught is short enough for a child and deep enough for a lifetime. Pray it slowly, pray it together, and let each line shape the day.