Chapter study · Matthew
Matthew 6:5–15
The Lord's Prayer
Matthew, recording Jesus · c. AD 60–85; the words c. AD 30 · about 7 min
Before you read
The middle of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just warned against praying to be seen and against heaping up empty phrases 'like the Gentiles' — then He gives a prayer short enough to say in thirty seconds.
The most-prayed prayer in history was given as an antidote to performance. It is short, direct, and begins with the most startling word available: Father.
Notice the order: God's name, God's kingdom, God's will — and only then our bread, our debts, our temptations. The prayer reorders us before it feeds us.
Verse by verse
Matthew 6:5–15:9
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
'Abba' — the family word. The Creator of the universe is addressed with the intimacy of a child climbing onto a lap. 'Our' — no one prays this prayer alone; even in private you are praying with the whole church.
Matthew 6:5–15:10
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
We are asking for heaven's way of doing things to colonize earth — starting with the square footage of our own lives. This is the most dangerous line in the prayer; it signs us up.
Matthew 6:5–15:11
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Daily, not monthly. The prayer builds dependence into the rhythm — enough for today, trust for tomorrow. Echoes of manna: it could not be stored, only gathered each morning.
Matthew 6:5–15:12
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Sins pictured as debts — a ledger. The request ties God's forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others, not as a transaction but as a family resemblance: the forgiven become forgivers.
Matthew 6:5–15:13
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
A humble confession baked into daily speech: I am not strong. We ask the Guide to choose the route, knowing we do not see the cliffs.
Matthew 6:5–15:14–15
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Jesus' only commentary on His own prayer is about forgiveness — He underlines that one line and no other. He knew which part we would skip.
A word in the original Greek
epiousios · ἐπιούσιος
'daily' — a word found almost nowhere else in Greek literature. It may mean 'for today' or 'for tomorrow' — either way, bread one day at a time.
Carry these with you
Prayer begins with relationship ('our Father') before request.
The prayer is daily bread sized — built for repetition, not occasions.
Forgiveness is the line Jesus circles twice.
Questions to sit with
- 1.
Which line of the prayer do you rush past without meaning it?
- 2.
What would 'daily bread' dependence look like in your actual week?
- 3.
Is there a debtor in your life the prayer is pointing at?