The Lord’s Prayer (2023): Our Father – Meaning and Bible Verses

What Is The Lord’s Prayer?

The Lord’s prayer is found in the Bible in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 9-13. It is a prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer is also called the Our Father Prayer, and it goes like this:

“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. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:19-13)

What Does The Lord’s Prayer Mean?

The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer that teaches us to depend on God. Let’s look at each section of the prayer.

Our Father in heaven

These initial words of the Lord’s prayer remind us that God is our Father and he is in heaven. This means that we can go to him with our prayers confident that he hears us. We can also relate to him as a child relates to their loving father.

Bible verse: See what great love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1)

Hallowed be your name

In this portion of the prayer, we are giving praise to the name of God. His name is to be honored and respected. This phrase is a declaration of reverence for God. When we understand how great and holy God is, it should cause us to respond with praise and worship.

Bible verse: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6:3)

Your kingdom come

It is here that we are praying for God’s kingdom to come. This means that we want God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We want to see God’s righteousness and justice in the world. We want to see his power and love at work in the world.

Bible verse: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

Give us today our daily bread

Here we are asking God to provide for our needs. We depend on him for our food and our daily sustenance. We trust that he will meet all of our needs according to his riches in glory.

Bible verse: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors

In this section, we are asking God to forgive us of our sins. We recognize that we have sinned against him and we ask for his forgiveness. We also commit to forgiving others who have sinned against us. When we forgive others, God will also forgive us.

Bible verse: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, (Matthew 6:14)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

In this portion, we are asking God to protect us from evil. We know that there is a battle between good and evil and we pray that God will help us to overcome evil. We also ask him to deliver us from Satan, who is the ruler of this world.

Bible verse: Deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

The Meaning of the Our Father Prayer

Ultimately The Our Father Prayer is a prayer that teaches us to depend on God. Notice that every phrase in some way declares our need for and dependence on God. We are saying that we need our Father to take care of us. That God reigns from heaven and everything gets their life from Him. That we need daily bread, which is a metaphor for everything we need in order to live. That we have wronged God and others, so we ask forgiveness. And that we are not able to overcome evil on our own, but need His help to do so.

When we pray this prayer, we are admitting that we cannot go through life on our own. We need God’s help in every area of our lives. This is a humble prayer that can change our hearts and mindsets. It is a prayer that reminds us that we are not in control, but that God is. And when we surrender to him, he will bless us beyond measure.

The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful and powerful prayer. It is a reminder of our need for God and our dependence on him. When we pray this prayer, we are opening our hearts to God and asking for his help.

How To Use the Lord’s Prayer

Jesus gave us the Our Father prayer as a template for our own prayers. We certainly can repeat it word for word and gain much benefit from it. But we can also use the structure of the Lord’s prayer as a way of structuring our own prayers. The our Father prayer provides us with following structure.

  1. Intimacy with God – Our Father
  2. Praise of God’s greatness – Who is in heaven
  3. Praise of God’s character – Hallowed be your name
  4. Prayer for God’s will – Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
  5. Confession of sin – Forgive us our debts
  6. Petition for needs – Give us today our daily bread
  7. Deliverance from sin – And lead us not into temptation
  8. Deliverance from temptation – But deliver us from the evil one

Prayers of the Lord

Here are some examples of how you might use this structure in your own prayer.

Dear Father,

I love you and appreciate you so much. You are the great creator of the universe and everything in it. You are holy and righteous and deserving of all praise. I pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I confess my sin to you and I ask for your forgiveness. I also forgive those who have sinned against me. I pray that you would meet all of my needs according to your riches in glory. I also ask that you would protect me from evil and deliver me from Satan’s power. I give you all the praise and honor, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Heavenly Father,

I thank you for your love and grace. You are the one true God and worthy of all praise. Please let your kingdom come, both in my heart and in the world around me. Let me be submissive to your will and bring your will to pass in my life. I ask you to forgive me for the sins I have committed, both against you and against others. I also forgive those who have sinned against me. Help me to continue forgiving them every day. I pray that you would provide for all of my needs, both spiritual and physical. I also ask that you would give me strength to overcome evil and the power of Satan in my life. All glory and honor belong to you, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

These are just examples of you might use the Our Father prayer in your own life. Prayer is a conversation between you and God. So, feel free to be creative and personalize your prayers however you want. The important thing is that you are talking to God and opening your heart to him.

Bible Verses About the Lord’s Prayer

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Hey, I'm Stephen Altrogge. I'm a dad and published author. I've written for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, ERLC, Church Leaders, Crosswalk, and many more outlets. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook .

2 thoughts on “The Lord’s Prayer (2023): Our Father – Meaning and Bible Verses”

  1. I am a person, a really good person who feels too much love for everyone else around me. It controls my mind to the point that I can’t sleep at night. Just constantly worrying about all the evil I see that’s going on it the world with all my love ones in it. It scares me and feels like nobody will every understand how the love I feel in my heart could actually hurt me so much. Sometimes I feel like I wasn’t meant to be in this world with so much hate. I try to spread my love as much as I can but it seems too strong for others to comprehend. My fear is that the evil in this world might have spread just a little in everyone’s heart. Please try to take care of one another, that is what truly matters in the end

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