Praying the Lord's Prayer
By Barry Cramer

The prayer traditionally known to Orthodox and Catholic Christians as the "Our Father," and to Protestant Christians as the "Lord’s Prayer," is perhaps best known in its traditional Elizabethan English (King James) version:

Our Father, which [or, who] art in heaven,

Hallowed by 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.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

For many Christians, primarily in the liturgical or prayer book traditions, this prayer is prayed every Sunday in the liturgy or worship service.

Other Christians, coming from the more Free Church Tradition, pray a version of the prayer using "debts" rather than "trespasses" and "as we forgive our debtors" in the clauses addressing forgiveness.

Additionally, this prayer is prayed daily by many individuals or families in morning prayer, evening prayer, or other devotional time. For others, even though it is used less regularly, The Lord’s Prayer is probably the best-known Christian prayer, along with Psalm 23.

Orthodox version

A typical Orthodox version of the Our Father differs slightly in its translation. Particularly noteworthy is the petition to be delivered, not from an abstract "evil," as in Protestant and Catholic versions, but from the "evil one," in a more concrete and personal way. This usage is consistent with modern translations, such as the New Revised Standard and New International versions (Matthew 6:13).

Our Father, Who art in the heavens,

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 debts [or, trespasses],

As we forgive our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory

Forever and ever. Amen.

The Doxology

The doxological phrase, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever," appears in the King James Version of Matthew, but in more recent translations typically appears as a footnote, as for example, the New International Version ("for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen"). This doxology has become a traditional part of the prayer. In the Orthodox Tradition it is used in the public liturgy and is prayed by the priest. In the Roman Catholic Tradition it concludes the prayer following a break for additional petitions.

Biblical sources

The Lord’s Prayer is found in two of the four Gospel accounts: Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. The accounts vary somewhat from each other as well as from traditional usage.

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins;

For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil (Luke 11:2-4, KJV)

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

They kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matt. 6:9-13, KJV)

Ecumenical Contemporary English text

With the liturgical reforms which have taken place over the past few decades, there have been efforts to standardize the prayers used in English-speaking congregations around the world. Consultation among liturgical scholars of numerous denominations has resulted in the following agreed text for the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name,

You kingdom come,

Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

As we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

And deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

Now and for ever. Amen

This contemporary ecumenical version is gaining acceptance around the world by many denominations of English-speaking Christians, whether they worship in Australia, England, New Zealand, the United States, or anywhere else.

Living the Lord’s Prayer

Luke Timothy Johnson, a Catholic layperson who teaches New Testament and Christian Origins at Indiana University, notes that the prayer is also found in an early Christian handbook called the Didache, which is where the doxology is found.

Johnson observes a different number of elements in Matthew’s version (7) and Luke.’s (5). In Luke, "[t]he first two concern the holiness of God and the establishment of his kingdom. The final three ask for necessary provisions, forgiveness of sins, and freedom from testing." Finally, Johnson says, "the prayer Jesus teaches his disciples authenticates his prophetic mission, for it shows that what he proclaims and performs in his ministry expresses the deepest reality of his own relationship with God

In the New Revised Standard Version, these elements, as numbered by this writer, are as follows, with the clauses in [brackets] appearing in some of the ancient authorities, but not included in the official NRSV translation:

[1] "Father, hallowed be your name.

[2] Your kingdom come.

[Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.]

[Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.]

[3] Give us each day our daily bread.

[4] And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

[5] And do not bring us to the time of trial" (Luke 11:2-4, NRSV).

[1] "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

[2] Your kingdom come.

[3] Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

[4] Give us this day our daily bread [our bread for the morrow].

[5] And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

[6] And do not bring us to the time of trial [into temptation],

[7] But rescue us from the evil one [from evil]" (Matthew 6:9-13, NSRV).

Images of Jubilee

Sharon Ringe, professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary, sees in the Lord’s Prayer "the centrality of Jubilee images."

"The Jubilee envisioned at the near boundary of God’s reign, according to Isaiah 61:1, begins with an affirmation of God’s sovereignty (here, the prayer that God’s reign come). That Jubilee also includes "good news to the poor" (here reflected in the petition for bread as the physical basis to sustain life), and "release" or "forgiveness," both of monetary debts and of other expressions of captivity or enslavement. Human beings participate in this divine Jubilee as both forgivers and forgiven (see also Matt. 18:23-35). What is at stake is a wholly new basis for human interaction---the polar opposite of the systems of debt and obligation, patronage and merit, honor and shame, that characterize life under various human institutions and authorities. In the realm of God, those old rules are canceled, and all things are made new. It is a prayer to be both spoken and lived."

Go to article Archive > >