The Lord’s Prayer, Line by Line

You have said it at weddings and funerals, at the end of a church service, maybe at a bedside as a child. The words come out whole, without effort. And then one day, halfway through, you notice you could not say what “hallowed” means, or why the person next to you said “debts” when you said “trespasses.”

That is the risk with the prayer almost every Christian knows by heart: it is easy to say without praying. This guide takes the Lord’s Prayer one line at a time, in plain words, so you can pray it on purpose again.

Where the Lord’s Prayer comes from: Matthew 6 and Luke 11

Jesus teaches the prayer twice in the Gospels, in two settings.

In Matthew, it comes in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, “This, then, is how you should pray,” and gives the form most churches use today (Matthew 6:9-13). Here it is in the NIV:

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.

In Luke, a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray, and He gives a shorter version (Luke 11:2-4):

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.

In the NIV, Matthew’s prayer runs to 53 words and Luke’s to 33. Luke’s has no “your will be done” line and no closing request to be delivered from the evil one, and it says “sins” where Matthew says “debts.” Both are the Lord’s Prayer. The core is the same: God first, then our needs.

Craig Koester, writing for Luther Seminary’s Working Preacher, notes that the prayer has a central place in Christian worship. It is one of the few prayers that nearly every church, of nearly every tradition, prays in some form.

The shape: God first, then us

Before the lines, the shape. Once you see it, the prayer stops being a block of words and becomes a path.

1. The address: “Our Father in heaven.”
2. Three petitions about God: His name, His kingdom, His will.
3. The turn: “on earth as it is in heaven.”
4. Requests for us: bread, forgiveness, and protection.

Koester puts it simply: the first three petitions focus the worshipers’ attention on God, and the fourth shifts to requests made directly for “us.” The commentary at Enter the Bible, also from Luther Seminary, points to the same hinge. It says “on earth as it is in heaven” marks a transition in both the subject and the tone. After it, the prayer speaks in direct requests: give, forgive, rescue.

Notice, too, that the prayer never says “my” or “me.” Koester points out that the plural “our” runs all the way through, so whoever prays it is joined to a wider praying community. Even alone in your kitchen, you are praying with others.

Line by line, in plain words

Here is the whole prayer, with the common wordings side by side and what each line asks. The NIV text is Matthew 6:9-13. The other wordings are the ones the commentaries below discuss.

A few of these lines deserve a closer look.

“Hallowed be your name.” “Hallowed” means made holy, or honored as holy. Enter the Bible connects the line to the Ten Commandments’ concern for the sanctity of God’s name. It is not only a statement that God is holy. It is a request that His name be honored, in the world and in the one praying.

“Your kingdom come.” Koester says that to pray for God’s kingdom is to ask that God’s power to create will prevail over forces that destroy, and that His power to redeem will bring release from bondage.

“Our daily bread.” This is the first request for ourselves, and it is small on purpose: today’s needs, not next year’s. Koester links it to the manna Israel gathered in the wilderness, one day at a time. Enter the Bible adds an honest detail: the Greek word translated “daily” appears nowhere else in Greek, and interpreters differ on exactly what it means.

“Forgive us our debts.” This line is the only one that asks something of us in the same breath. We ask to be forgiven as we forgive. If this is the line that catches in your throat, our guide to what forgiveness does and does not require is a good next read.

“Deliver us from the evil one.” Enter the Bible notes that many liturgical versions say “deliver us from evil,” while the NRSV reads “rescue us from the evil one,” a common New Testament way of naming Satan. The NIV text says “the evil one,” with “from evil” as an alternative in its footnote. The BibleProject’s guide to the prayer reads it the same way, as a prayer for deliverance from the evil one.

Debts, trespasses or sins: why churches say it differently

If you have ever prayed the Lord’s Prayer in a church that is not your own, you have probably tripped on this line. One room says “debts,” another says “trespasses,” a third says “sins.” None of them is wrong.

Koester explains where each comes from:

• Debts is the more literal rendering of the Greek. It is the word in the King James Version and in some Protestant liturgies. The picture is of sin as a debt owed to God that we cannot repay.
• Trespasses comes from the older translation of William Tyndale.
• Sins is the word in Luke’s version, at Luke 11:4.

The same thing happens near the end. The traditional wording is “lead us not into temptation.” Some churches now pray “save us from the time of trial.” Koester says the newer wording reflects discomfort with the idea that God would ever lead people into temptation, since God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13). The NIV’s own footnote notes that the Greek word for temptation can also mean testing.

These are differences of translation and custom, not of faith. Each tradition has good reasons for its wording, and if you want to know why your own church says it the way it does, your pastor or priest is the person to ask. It is a small example of something bigger, which we write about in why one passage can be read four ways.

How to pray it slowly instead of reciting it

Knowing what the lines mean is half of it. The other half is slowing down enough to mean them. Three simple ways in:

1. Pause at the turn. Pray the first half, up to “on earth as it is in heaven,” and stop for one breath. You have been speaking about God. Now you are about to speak about you. Let the pause mark the change.
2. Hear the “our.” When you say “give us” and “forgive us,” bring one other person to mind. The prayer was written in the plural for a reason.
3. Stop on the line that catches. Some days it will be the bread. Some days it will be the forgiving. When a line snags, stay there a moment longer before you move on.

For a fuller method, where each line becomes a prompt for the details of your own day, see what to pray about when you don’t know what to say. And if you want the prayer to be part of a steady daily rhythm rather than an occasional one, start with our guide on how to pray consistently.

Whatever wording your church uses, the prayer is the same gift. Jesus gave it to people who did not know how to pray. That is still who it is for. And it was given in the plural, to be prayed with others; if you are looking for a church to pray it with, our church finder lists churches in 54 US cities.

Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of the Lord's Prayer?

The Lord's Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. It first asks that God's name be honored, His kingdom come and His will be done, then asks for our daily needs, for forgiveness as we forgive others, and for protection from temptation and evil.

Why do some churches say debts and others trespasses?

"Debts" is the more literal translation of the Greek and appears in the King James Version and some Protestant liturgies. "Trespasses" comes from William Tyndale's older translation, and Luke 11:4 says "sins." All three ask for the same forgiveness.

What does 'lead us not into temptation' mean?

It asks God to keep us from being overcome by testing. Because God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), some churches now pray "save us from the time of trial" instead, and the NIV notes that the Greek word can also mean testing.

What is the difference between the Lord's Prayer in Matthew and Luke?

Matthew 6:9-13 is the longer form, given in the Sermon on the Mount, and is the one most churches pray. Luke 11:2-4 is shorter: in the NIV it has no "your will be done" line and no closing line about the evil one, and it says "sins" where Matthew says "debts."