Lord, Teach Us to Pray
- James Collazo
- Jun 28, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 22
Introduction
When Jesus' disciples asked him how to pray to God, he taught them to address the Father with unwavering boldness and reverent intent, saying:
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 (Matt. 6:9–13).
Matthew recorded the version cited above. However, Luke rendered it more concisely:
Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation (Luke 11:1–4).
The early Christians added the doxology, "for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever," to Matthew's version late in the first century. They adapted it from King David's inauguration speech for the first Jerusalem temple: "Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all" (1 Chron. 29:11). Likewise, the Didachē, a first-century worship manual used by Jewish Christians, read:
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 bread for the morrow; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but save us from the evil one, for yours is the power and the glory forever (Did. 8, Richardson, p. 174).
Jewish Origin of the Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer condenses the Amidah (H5975; "standing" prayer), a liturgical recitation of the Eighteen Benedictions in the synagogue. Observe these key similarities:
Benediction 4
You are holy, and your name is sacred; all day long, your holy ones will praise you—Selah. Blessed are you, LORD, the holy God. You favor humankind with knowledge, understanding, and insight; blessed are you, LORD, who graces us with ability.
Benediction 5
Our Father, cause us to return to your instruction and draw us near, our King, to your service and bring us back in complete repentance to your presence. Blessed are you, LORD, who delights in repentance.
Benediction 6
Our Father, forgive us for sinning; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed. Blessed are you, LORD, gracious and abundantly forgiving. Look upon our troubles, defend our cause, and quickly redeem us for your name's sake, for you are a strong Redeemer. Blessed are you, LORD, Redeemer of Israel.
Benediction 7
Heal us, and we shall be healed; rescue us, and we shall be saved, for you are our praise. And grant us complete healing for all our wounds, for you, God our King, are a faithful and compassionate healer. Blessed are you, LORD, healer of the sicknesses of your people, Israel.
Benediction 9
Bless this year to us, LORD our God, and all the good things supplied to us in it. Release your blessing upon the face of the earth. Satisfy us with Your goodness, and bless our year as other good years; blessed are you, LORD, who sanctifies the years.
Benediction 14
Return in compassion to Jerusalem, your city, and dwell there as you have spoken; build it up in our days as an everlasting building and establish the throne of David there. Blessed are you, LORD, the builder of Jerusalem.
Benediction 15
Let the branch of David, your servant, flourish quickly and let his horn be exalted in your salvation, for we await your rescue all day. Blessed are you, LORD, who makes the horn of salvation flourish.
Benediction 19
Grant wholeness, peace, goodness, blessing, favor, and grace upon us and all your people, Israel; bless us all together, our Father, with the light of your face; for by the light of your face you have given us, LORD, the instruction of life, love, and grace, along with righteousness, blessing, compassion, life, and peace. May it be pleasing in your sight to bless your people, Israel, each day and each hour with your peace. Blessed are you, LORD, who blesses your people Israel with peace.
Several petitions in the Lord's Prayer also draw from the Mourner's Kaddish (H6918, "holy" or "sacred"), which Jews recite during synagogue liturgies.
Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world, which he has created according to his will. May he establish his kingdom in your lifetime, during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon. May his great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed is he, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations ever spoken in the world. May there be abundant peace from heaven and life for us and Israel.
Implementation & Practice
Today, many churchgoers overlook the liturgical roots of Jesus' prayer, often misquoting his words from the Sermon on the Mount: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matt. 6:7 KJV). The New International Version (NIV) renders it more accurately: "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matt. 6:7). The emphasis lies not on "repetition," but on "vain." Jesus did not condemn liturgical recitation; he himself repeated prayers in keeping with his Jewish heritage. His point was to warn against empty ritual—merely reciting words and assuming God is impressed by verbosity. Believers may still recite prayers if they do so with faith and deliberate intent. Scripture nowhere commands spontaneity or randomness in worship. The psalmist declares, "Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people" (Ps. 149:1). This is a call to rejoice, not a mandate that traps church musicians in endless tests of originality.
When Jesus' disciples pleaded, "Lord, teach us to pray," they were asking what changes he would make to the traditional Jewish forms as the Messiah. One of the most critical changes was rewording, "May he establish his kingdom in your lifetime and during your days," to the much simpler, "Your kingdom come." The kingdom arrived with Jesus' presence, requiring a shift in the Kaddish from future to present tense. Jews and Gentiles alike would no longer have to wait another day for the Messiah. Yet Jesus did not teach the Lord's Prayer merely to infuse Jewish petitions with messianic fulfillment.
To implement and practice the Lord's Prayer as a template, follow this:
Identification of God, his power, and sovereignty.
Respect for God's name.
Acknowledgment of God's will and kingdom.
Petition for daily sustenance, both spiritual and material.
Repentance and mutual forgiveness.
Deliverance from testing and temptation (both translate the Greek peirasmon, G3986).
Doxology: praising God.
Conclusion
The Lord's Prayer, rooted in Jewish tradition, calls us to pray with purpose and fire. Jesus reshaped the ancient words, turning our hope from what is distant to the kingdom breaking into the here and now. He summons us to honor God's holiness, seek his will, and cling wholly to him, reminding us that prayer is not mere formality but a living dialogue with the Father.
Each petition of the prayer draws us into the reality of God's reign: we ask for daily provision, acknowledge our need for forgiveness, and commit ourselves to extending that same mercy to others. We seek protection from temptation and deliverance from evil, recognizing our dependence on God in every aspect of life. When we pray with faith, not empty repetition, we enter a living encounter with God—one that shapes our hearts, aligns our desires with his, and transforms the way we live in the world. In this way, the Lord's Prayer becomes more than words; it becomes a rhythm of life, a path to holiness, and a declaration that God's kingdom has come, is coming, and will come in fullness.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth! You pour out your grace as we join our hearts in prayer. You promise that when two or three gather in Jesus' name, you hear and answer according to your will. Grant us deeper knowledge of your truth, steady guidance in your ways, and hearts ready for the life to come, rejoicing in your mercy and proclaiming your glory. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Bibliography
Attridge, Harold W., ed. The NRSV HarperCollins Study Bible, Revised and Updated with Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006.
Dobson, Kent. NIV First-Century Study Bible: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.
Eden, Ami. "Text of the Mourner's Kaddish." My Jewish Learning. link.
Goldstein, Chaim. "Discover the Very Jewish Lord's Prayer." Messianic Bible Project. link.
Janicki, Toby. The Way of Life—Didache: A New Translation and Messianic Jewish Commentary. Marshfield, MO: Vine of David, 2017.
Kaiser, Walter C., Jr., and Duane Garrett, eds. NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.
Kohler, Kaufmann. "The Lord's Prayer." Jewish Encyclopedia. Philadelphia: Kopelman, 2021. link.
Lizorkin-Eyzenberg, Eliyahu. "Does The Lord's Prayer Have Jewish Liturgical Roots?" Israel Bible Center. June 9, 2022. link.
"Prayer Resource." Community Church Edinburgh. March 2019. link.
Richardson, Cyril C., trans. and ed. "A Church Manual—The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Commonly Called the Didache." In The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 1: Early Christian Fathers. Edited by John Baillie, John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953.
