How many times have we prayed it without pausing to think about what we are saying? The Lord's Prayer is, undoubtedly, the prayer that has been uttered by more Christian lips in two thousand years of history. It is recited by the child learning to make the sign of the cross and by the elderly person bidding farewell to the world; it is prayed in Saint Peter's Basilica and in a prison cell. And yet, few prayers conceal such depth beneath an apparent simplicity. It was not composed by a theologian or a poet: Jesus Himself placed it upon our lips when His disciples, moved upon seeing Him pray, asked Him: «Lord, teach us to pray» (Lk 11:1).
Historical context: the only prayer taught by Jesus
The Lord's Prayer is the only formula of prayer that Jesus Christ expressly taught His own. The Gospels transmit it in two versions: the most solemn and well-known, within the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13), and a briefer one in Luke (11:2-4), uttered precisely in response to the disciples' request. The context is not coincidental: in Matthew, Jesus has just warned against the empty prayer of the hypocrites and the «babbling» of the pagans. Against such empty words, He offers a measured, sober prayer, made of few words that contain everything.
The tradition of the Church venerated this prayer from very early on. The Didache, a Christian writing from the late 1st century, already prescribed praying it three times a day, gathering the Jewish custom of daily prayers and giving it a new heart. Tertullian, around the year 200, called it with an expression that has endured: «breviarium totius Evangelii», the summary of the whole Gospel (De oratione, 1). Saint Cyprian of Carthage dedicated an entire treatise to it, De dominica oratione, emphasizing that whoever has God as Father must behave as a son. And Saint Augustine, in his renowned letter to the widow Proba, affirmed that, having reviewed all the prayers of Scripture, nothing is found that is not already contained, in one way or another, in this prayer of the Lord (Letter 130).
For this reason, the Church also calls it the «Lord's Prayer»: the prayer of the Lord, because it comes from Him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church dedicates the final culmination of its entire exposition to it (nn. 2759-2865) and places it at the heart of the liturgy: we pray it in every Mass, after the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion, as preparation to receive the Bread we ask for in it. It is not just one text among many: it is the Christian prayer.
Full text of the Lord's Prayer
This is the official liturgical version prayed in Spain, taken from the Roman Missal (third edition, 2017):
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.
The Latin original
The Pater noster, the only prayer that Jesus taught in His own words.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis,
sanctificétur nomen tuum;
advéniat regnum tuum;
fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie;
et dimítte nobis débita nostra,
sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris;
et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;
sed líbera nos a malo. Amen.
Reflection and meaning: seven petitions, the entire Gospel
The Lord's Prayer opens with an invocation and unfolds into seven petitions: the first three direct us toward God and His glory; the following four present our needs to Him. We do not begin by asking for ourselves, but by desiring His things. That order is already a lesson in prayer.
Why do we say «Father» and not «God»?
«Our Father, who art in heaven». The first word changes everything. Jesus did not teach us to address a distant power, but a Father. He used the Aramaic word Abba, which in its intimacy meant something as tender as «daddy», and bestowed it upon us: «You have received a spirit of adopted sons, by which we cry out: Abba, Father!» (Romans 8:15; cf. Galatians 4:6). Daring to call God Father is not an achievement of ours, but a gift of the Spirit (Catechism, nn. 2777-2778).
And we say «our», not «my». Whoever prays the Lord's Prayer never prays alone: they recognize themselves as a brother or sister to all other children of God. One cannot invoke the common Father while closing one's heart to a brother or sister. «Who art in heaven» does not point to a distant place, but to the transcendence and majesty of God, who nevertheless has drawn near to us (nn. 2794-2796).
The three petitions looking toward God
«Hallowed be thy name». We do not ask to give God a holiness He already possesses, but that His name be recognized, blessed, and glorified in us and by us. As the prophet proclaimed: «I will manifest the holiness of my great name» (Ezekiel 36:23). God's holiness shines forth, above all, when His people live as His children (Catechism, nn. 2807-2815).
«Thy kingdom come». We yearn for the Kingdom that Jesus inaugurated and that will reach its fulfillment at the end of time: a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. To pray for it is to commit to seeking it «first» (Matthew 6:33) and to letting it grow, like a seed, in the furrow of our lives (nn. 2816-2821).
«Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven». Here the Christian is measured. It is the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane: «Not as I will, but as you will» (Matthew 26:39). It is not resignation, but trust: believing that the will of a good Father is always our good, even when we sometimes do not understand it (nn. 2822-2827).
What bread do we ask for each day?
«Give us this day our daily bread». We ask, without shame, for what is necessary to live: material bread, work, shelter, everything that sustains the existence of each day. But tradition also saw here the Bread of the Eucharist, food for the soul, and the Word of God. We say «give us», in the plural: asking for my bread is committing myself to ensuring that my brother or sister does not lack theirs (Catechism, nn. 2828-2837).
«And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us». This is the only petition we place under a condition, and Jesus wished to emphasize it as He concluded: «If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you» (Matthew 6:14-15). Received forgiveness and given forgiveness are inseparable. Not because God is stingy, but because a heart closed to a brother or sister becomes incapable of welcoming the mercy offered to it (nn. 2838-2845).
Does God lead us into evil?
«And lead us not into temptation». The phrasing can be disconcerting, because «God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one» (James 1:13). We do not ask that God spare us from being tested—faith is forged in trial—, but that He not allow us to yield, that He not let us enter into and consent to what separates us from Him. Saint Paul assures us that «God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength» (1 Corinthians 10:13). It is a petition of vigilance and humility (Catechism, nn. 2846-2849).
«But deliver us from evil». The final petition does not refer to an abstract evil, but to the Evil One, the one who opposes God's design. We ask to be delivered from his power and to live in the peace that the world cannot give. With this supplication, the Church presents all the misery of the world before the Father and asks Him for definitive liberation (nn. 2850-2854).
And everything culminates in the «Amen»: a «yes, so be it» by which we make all the petitions our own, sealing with faith what we have just asked (nn. 2855-2856).
A prayer for today
It is fitting to pray it slowly. Some dedicate an entire Lord's Prayer to a single phrase, pausing where the heart asks them to: one day on «forgive», when forgiving is difficult; another on «thy will be done», in the face of difficult news. There are married couples who pray it together before sleeping, and pilgrims who murmur it to the rhythm of their steps. It is not magic or a formula: it is entering, again and again, into the trust of a child speaking with their Father. Whoever truly learns to pray the Lord's Prayer has learned to pray.
Two versions in the Gospel, not one
The Lord's Prayer appears twice in the New Testament, and they are not exactly the same. The one in Matthew 6 is the long version, within the Sermon on the Mount, and is the one the Church prays. The one in Luke 11 is briefer and comes in a different context: the disciples ask Him «teach us to pray» and He responds with it.
The reference is Mt 6:9-13.
The existence of two versions weakens nothing; on the contrary, it shows that the prayer circulated vibrantly in two communities before the Gospels were written. The Catechism dedicates an entire section to it and calls it the «summary of the whole Gospel».
Where it is prayed
- At Mass, between the Eucharistic Prayer and Communion.
- In the rosary, at the beginning of each mystery.
- In Lauds and Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours, every day.
You may also be interested in how to pray the rosary, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be.
In the store: custom rosaries.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two versions in the Bible?
Matthew 6 records it within the Sermon on the Mount, in its long form, and Luke 11 gives it more briefly in response to the disciples. The Church prays Matthew's version.
Do we say «lead us not into temptation»?
This is the formula used today by the Spanish Missal. The discussion regarding «lead us not into temptation» versus «do not let us fall into temptation» stems from the fact that the original does not state that God tempts, but rather asks not to be abandoned in trial.
What does «our daily bread» mean?
The Greek adjective epioúsios does not appear in any other text and allows for several readings: today's bread, the bread necessary for subsistence, and, in the reading of tradition, the Eucharistic bread. All three have been sustained.
Is it the only prayer that Jesus taught?
It is the only one He taught with specific words to be repeated. Hence it is called the Lord's Prayer.
Sources
- Sacred Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; Matthew 26:39; Matthew 6:14-15; James 1:13; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ezekiel 36:23.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 2759-2865.
- Roman Missal, third official edition for Spain (2017).
- Tertullian, De oratione; Saint Cyprian, De dominica oratione; Saint Augustine, Letter 130 to Proba; Didache 8:3.
About the author
This article is part of «Christian Prayers and Devotions», the Productos Religiosos series dedicated to rediscovering the treasure of Catholic prayer. We write from faith and with rigor, always turning to Scripture, the Catechism, and the living tradition of the Church, so that every prayer may once again be what it has always been: an encounter with God.
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