The Lord's Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
NLT“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
God addressed as 'Our Father' — intimacy and reverence at once, and prayer made plural, not private.
This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. This verse introduces the Lord's Prayer, a foundational text of Christian worship. By addressing God as 'Our Father', it establishes an intimate, familial relationship, a radical shift from more distant conceptions of the Divine. Simultaneously, 'hallowed be your name' maintains a profound reverence for God's holiness. It sets a template for all Christian prayer, balancing adoration, submission, and petition.
Light
Fosters a deeply personal and accessible approach to prayer. The collective 'Our' emphasizes community and shared humanity, uniting believers across diverse backgrounds in a common spiritual practice.
Shadow
The patriarchal language of 'Father' can be challenging for those with negative paternal experiences or those seeking a more gender-inclusive understanding of the Divine.
