One of the main prayers of an Orthodox person is the Lord's Prayer. It is contained in all prayer books and canons. Its text is unique: it contains thanksgiving to Christ, intercession before Him, petition and repentance.
Icon of Jesus Christ
It is with this prayer, filled with deep meaning, that we turn to the Almighty directly without the participation of saints and heavenly angels.
Reading rules
- The Lord's Prayer is included in the obligatory prayers of the morning and evening rules, and its reading is also recommended before meals, before starting any business.
- It protects from demonic attacks, strengthens the spirit, and delivers from sinful thoughts.
- If a slip of the tongue occurs during prayer, you need to apply the Sign of the Cross on yourself, say “Lord, have mercy,” and begin reading again.
- You should not treat reading a prayer as a routine job, say it mechanically. The request and praise of the Creator must be expressed sincerely.
About Orthodox prayer:
Important! The text in Russian is in no way inferior to the Church Slavonic version of the prayer. The Lord appreciates the spiritual impulse and attitude of the prayer book.Orthodox prayer "Our Father"
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The main idea of the Lord's Prayer - from Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov)
The Lord's Prayer, Our Father, is integral prayer and unity, because life in the Church requires from a person complete concentration of his thoughts and feelings, spiritual aspiration. God is Freedom, Simplicity and Unity.
God is everything for a person and he must give absolutely everything to Him. Rejection from the Creator is detrimental to faith. Christ could not teach people to pray any other way. God is the only good, he is “existent”, everything is to Him and from Him.
God is the One Giver: Thy Kingdom, Thy Will, leave, give, deliver... Here everything distracts a person from earthly life, from attachment to earthly things, from worries and draws him to the One from Whom everything is. And petitions only indicate the statement that little space is given to earthly things. And this is correct, because renunciation of the worldly is a measure of love for God, the other side of Orthodox Christianity. God Himself came down from heaven to call us from earth to heaven.
THE LORD'S PRAYER (OUR FATHER) WITH INTERPRETATION
Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen
Father- Father; Izhe- Which; Who art thou in heaven- Which is in heaven, or heavenly; Yes- let be; hallowed- glorified; like- How; in heaven- in the sky; urgent- necessary for existence; give me a shout- give; today- today, today; leave it- sorry; debts- sins; our debtor- to those people who sinned against us; temptation- temptation, danger of falling into sin; sly- everything cunning and evil, that is, the devil. An evil spirit is called the devil.
This prayer is called the Lord’s Prayer because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Therefore, this prayer is the most important prayer for everyone.
Our Father, who art in heaven! With these words we turn to God and, calling Him Heavenly Father, we urge him to listen to our requests or petitions. When we say that He is in heaven, we must mean the spiritual, invisible sky, and not that visible blue vault that is spread over us and which we call heaven.
Hallowed be your name- that is, help us to live righteously, holyly and glorify Your name with our holy deeds. Thy Kingdom come- that is, honor us here on earth with Your Heavenly Kingdom, which is truth, love and peace; reign in us and rule us. Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth- that is, let everything not be as we want, but as You please, and help us to obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly and without grumbling as it is fulfilled, with love and joy, by the holy Angels in heaven . Because only You know what is useful and necessary for us, and You wish us good more than we ourselves. Give us our daily bread today- that is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread.
By bread here we mean everything necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, housing, but most importantly the Most Pure Body and the Honest Blood in the sacrament of Holy Communion, without which there is no salvation in eternal life. The Lord commanded us to ask ourselves not for wealth, not for luxury, but only for the most necessary things and to rely on God in everything, remembering that He, as a Father, always cares and takes care of us. And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.- that is, forgive us our sins just as we ourselves forgive those who have offended or offended us.
In this petition, our sins are called our debts, because the Lord gave us strength, abilities and everything else in order to do good deeds, and we often turn all this into sin and evil and become debtors before God. And if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our debtors, that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this. And do not lead us into temptation- temptation is a state when something or someone draws us to sin, tempts us to do something lawless or bad. We ask - do not allow us to be tempted, which we cannot endure, help us overcome temptations when they happen. But deliver us from evil- that is, deliver us from all evil in this world and from the culprit (chief) of evil - from the devil (evil spirit), who is always ready to destroy us. Deliver us from this cunning, crafty power and its deceptions, which is nothing before You.
"Our Father who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13)"
"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 our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor to us;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
(Luke 11:2-4)"
Icon "Our Father" 1813
Our Father prayer text with accents
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Our Father text of prayer in Church Slavonic
Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name,
may your kingdom come,
Thy will be done
as in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts,
just as we also leave our debtors;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one
Icon “Our Father” from the Church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, 17th century.
Our Father prayer text in Greek
Πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὁἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
ἁγιασθήτω τὸὄνομά σου,
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου,
γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶἐπὶ γής.
Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον.
Καὶἄφες ἡμῖν τὰὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν,
ὡς καὶἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν.
Καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,
ἀλλὰ ρυσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ του πονηρου.
A page from the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus Bible, with the text of the Lord's Prayer.
Interpretation of the prayer "Our Father" by St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Our Father, who art in heaven
(Matt. 6:9). O great love of God! To those who withdrew from Him and were in extreme malice against Him, He granted such oblivion of insults and communion of grace that they also call Him Father: Our Father, Who art in heaven. Those can be heavens, which bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49), and in which God dwells and walks (2 Cor. 6:16).
Hallowed be Thy name.
The name of God is holy by nature, whether we say it or not. But since those who sin are sometimes defiled, according to this: by you My name is always blasphemed among the nations (Isaiah 52:5; Rom. 2:24). For this purpose, we pray that the name of God will be sanctified in us: not because, as if, without being holy, it will begin to be holy, but because in us it becomes holy when we ourselves are sanctified and do what is worthy of shrine.
Thy kingdom come.
A pure soul can boldly say: Thy kingdom come. For whoever heard Paul say: Let sin not reign in your dead body (Rom. 6:12), and whoever purifies himself in deed, and in thought, and in word; he can say to God: Thy kingdom come.
The divine and blessed Angels of God do the will of God, as David, chanting, said: Bless the Lord, all His Angels, mighty in strength, who do His word (Psalm 102:20). Therefore, when you pray, you say this in this meaning: just as Your will is done in the Angels, so may it be done in me on earth, Master!
Our common bread is not our daily bread. This Holy Bread is our daily bread: instead of saying, it is provided for the being of the soul. This bread does not enter into the belly, but comes out through the aphedron (Matthew 15:17): but it is divided into your entire composition, for the benefit of body and soul. And the word is spoken today instead for every day, as Paul said: until today it is spoken (Heb. 3:13).
And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.
For we have many sins. Because we sin in word and thought, and do a lot of things worthy of condemnation. And if we say that there is no sin, we lie (1 John 1:8), as John says. So, God and I make a condition, praying to forgive our sins, just as we forgive our neighbors. So, considering what we receive instead of what, let us not hesitate and let us not put off forgiving each other. The insults that happen to us are small, easy and forgivable: but those that happen to God from us are great, and only require His love for mankind. So, be careful that for small and easy sins against you, you do not deny God’s forgiveness to yourself for your gravest sins.
And do not lead us into temptation (Lord)!
Is this what the Lord teaches us to pray about, so that we may not be tempted in the least? And how is it said in one place: a man is not skilled and is not skilled in eating (Sirach 34:10; Rom. 1:28)? and in another: have all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations (James 1:2)? But to enter into temptation does not mean to be consumed by temptation? Because temptation is like a kind of stream that is difficult to cross. Consequently, those who, being in temptations, do not plunge into them, cross over like the most skillful swimmers, without being drowned by them; and those who are not like that, those who enter, are immersed, as, for example, Judas, having entered into the temptation of the love of money, did not swim across, but, having immersed himself, he drowned physically and spiritually. Peter entered into the temptation of rejection: but, having entered, he did not get bogged down, but courageously swam, and was freed from temptation. Listen also in another place, how the whole face of the Saints gives thanks for deliverance from temptation: You have tempted us, O God, You have kindled us, as silver is liquified. You brought us into the net; you placed sorrow on our backbone. Thou hast raised up men upon our heads: thou hast passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us to rest (Psalm 65:10, 11, 12). Do you see them boldly rejoicing that they have passed and are not stuck? And you brought us out, saying, into rest (ibid., v. 12). For them to enter into rest means to be freed from temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
If the phrase: do not lead us into temptation meant the same thing as not being tempted at all, then I would not have given it, but deliver us from the evil one. The evil one is a resistant demon, from which we pray to get rid of. When the prayer is fulfilled, you say amen. Capturing through Amen, what it means, let everything be done that is contained in this God-given prayer.
The text is given from the edition: Works of our holy father Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem. Publication of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, 1991. (Reprint from the publisher: M., Synodal Printing House, 1900.) pp. 336-339.
Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer by St. John Chrysostom
Our Father, Who art in Heaven!
Look how He immediately encouraged the listener and at the very beginning remembered all the good deeds of God! In fact, the one who calls God Father, by this one name already confesses forgiveness of sins, and liberation from punishment, and justification, and sanctification, and redemption, and sonship, and inheritance, and brotherhood with the Only Begotten, and the gift of the spirit, so just as someone who has not received all these benefits cannot call God Father. So, Christ inspires His listeners in two ways: both by the dignity of what is called, and by the greatness of the benefits that they received.
When he speaks in Heaven, with this word he does not imprison God in heaven, but distracts the one praying from the earth and places him in the highest countries and in the mountain dwellings.
Further, with these words He teaches us to pray for all the brothers. He does not say: “My Father, who art in Heaven,” but “Our Father,” and thereby commands us to offer prayers for the entire human race and never have in mind our own benefits, but always try for the benefits of our neighbor. And in this way he destroys enmity, and overthrows pride, and destroys envy, and introduces love - the mother of all good things; destroys the inequality of human affairs and shows complete equality between the king and the poor, since we all have equal participation in the highest and most necessary matters. Indeed, what harm comes from low kinship, when by heavenly kinship we are all united and no one has anything more than another: neither the rich more than the poor, nor the master more than the slave, nor the boss more than the subordinate, nor the king more than the warrior, nor the philosopher more than the barbarian, nor the wise more ignorant? God, who honored everyone equally to call Himself Father, through this gave everyone the same nobility.
So, having mentioned this nobility, this highest gift, the unity of honor and love between brothers, having taken the listeners away from earth and placed them in heaven, let’s see what Jesus finally commands to pray for. Of course, calling God Father contains a sufficient teaching about every virtue: whoever calls God Father, and the common Father, must necessarily live in such a way as not to prove unworthy of this nobility and show zeal equal to a gift. However, the Savior was not satisfied with this name, but added other sayings.
Hallowed be your name
He says. To ask for nothing before the glory of the Heavenly Father, but to esteem everything below His praise—this is a prayer worthy of one who calls God Father! Let him be holy means let him be glorified. God has his own glory, full of all majesty and never changing. But the Savior commands the one who prays to ask that God may be glorified by our life. He said about this before: Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). And the Seraphim glorify God and cry out: Holy, Holy, Holy! (Isa. 66, 10). So, let him be holy means let him be glorified. Grant us, as the Savior teaches us to pray, to live so purely that through us everyone will glorify You. To demonstrate a blameless life before everyone, so that each of those who see it exalts praise to the Lord - this is a sign of perfect wisdom.
Thy kingdom come.
And these words are appropriate for a good son, who is not attached to what is visible and does not consider present blessings to be something great, but strives for the Father and desires future blessings. Such prayer comes from a good conscience and a soul free from everything earthly.
This is what the Apostle Paul desired every day, which is why he said: we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of sons and the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). He who has such love can neither become proud among the blessings of this life, nor despair among the sorrows, but, like one living in heaven, is free from both extremes.
Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth.
Do you see the beautiful connection? He first commanded to desire the future and strive for one’s fatherland, but until this happens, those living here should try to lead the kind of life that is characteristic of the inhabitants of heaven. One must desire, He says, heaven and heavenly things. However, even before reaching heaven, He commanded us to make the earth heaven and, living on it, to behave in everything as if we were in heaven, and to pray to the Lord about this. Indeed, the fact that we live on earth does not hinder us in the least from achieving the perfection of the heavenly Forces. But it is possible, even if you live here, to do everything as if we lived in heaven.
So, the meaning of the Savior’s words is this: how in heaven everything happens without hindrance and it does not happen that the Angels obey in one thing and disobey in another, but in everything they obey and submit (because it is said: they who do His word are mighty in strength - Ps. 102:20) - so grant us, people, not to do Your will halfway, but to do everything as You please.
You see? - Christ taught us to humble ourselves when he showed that virtue depends not only on our zeal, but also on heavenly grace, and at the same time he commanded each of us, during prayer, to take care of the universe. He did not say: “Thy will be done in me” or “in us,” but throughout the whole earth - that is, so that all error would be destroyed and truth would be implanted, so that all malice would be driven out and virtue would return, and thus, nothing there was no difference between heaven and earth. If this is so, He says, then what is above will not differ in any way from what is above, although they are different in properties; then the earth will show us other angels.
Give us this day our daily bread.
What is daily bread? Everyday. Since Christ said: Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth, and He talked with people clothed in flesh, who are subject to the necessary laws of nature and cannot have angelic dispassion, although He commands us to fulfill the commandments in the same way as the Angels fulfill them, but condescends to the weakness of nature and seems to say: “I demand from you the equal angelic severity of life, however, not demanding dispassion, since your nature, which has a necessary need for food, does not allow it.”
Look, however, how there is a lot of spirituality in the physical! The Savior commanded us to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, not for anything else like that - but only for bread, and, moreover, for everyday bread, so that we would not worry about tomorrow, which is why he added: daily bread, that is, everyday. He was not even satisfied with this word, but then added another: give it to us today, so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with worry about the coming day. In fact, if you don’t know whether you will see tomorrow, then why bother yourself with worrying about it? The Savior commanded this further in his sermon: “Do not worry,” he says, “about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). He wants us to always be girded and inspired by faith and to yield no more to nature than necessary needs require of us.
Further, since it happens to sin even after the font of rebirth (that is, the Sacrament of Baptism. - Comp.), the Savior, wanting in this case to show His great love for mankind, commands us to approach the man-loving God with a prayer for the forgiveness of our sins and say so: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Do you see the abyss of God's mercy? After taking away so many evils and after the inexpressibly great gift of justification, He again deigns to forgive those who sin.<…>
By reminding us of sins, He inspires us with humility; by commanding to let others go, he destroys rancor in us, and by promising us forgiveness for this, he affirms good hopes in us and teaches us to reflect on the ineffable love of God for mankind.
What is especially worthy of note is that in each of the above petitions He mentioned all the virtues, and with this last petition He also includes rancor. And the fact that the name of God is sanctified through us is an undoubted proof of a perfect life; and the fact that His will is done shows the same thing; and the fact that we call God the Father is a sign of an immaculate life. All this already implies that we should leave anger at those who insult us; however, the Savior was not satisfied with this, but, wanting to show how much concern He has for eradicating rancor among us, he especially speaks about this and after prayer recalls not another commandment, but the commandment of forgiveness, saying: For if you forgive people their sins, then Your heavenly Father will forgive you (Matthew 6:14).
Thus, this absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced on us lies in our power. So that none of the unreasonable, being condemned for a great or small crime, has the right to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the most guilty one, a judge over Himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment will you pronounce on yourself, the same judgment will I I will say about you; if you forgive your brother, then you will receive the same benefit from me - although this latter is actually much more important than the first. You forgive another because you yourself need forgiveness, and God forgives, without needing anything; you forgive your fellow servant, and God forgives your slave; you are guilty of countless sins, but God is sinless
On the other hand, the Lord shows His love for mankind by the fact that even though He could forgive you all your sins without your doing, He wants to benefit you in this too, in everything to give you occasions and incentives to meekness and love of mankind - drives out of you bestiality, quenches your anger and in every possible way wants to unite you with your members. What will you say about that? Is it that you have unjustly suffered some kind of evil from your neighbor? If so, then, of course, your neighbor has sinned against you; and if you have suffered justly, then this does not constitute sin in him. But you also approach God with the intention of receiving forgiveness for similar and even much greater sins. Moreover, even before forgiveness, how much have you received, when you have already learned to preserve the human soul within yourself and have been taught meekness? Moreover, a great reward will await you in the next century, because then you will not be required to account for any of your sins. So, what kind of punishment will we deserve if, even after receiving such rights, we ignore our salvation? Will the Lord listen to our requests when we ourselves do not spare ourselves where everything is in our power?
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Here the Savior clearly shows our insignificance and overthrows pride, teaching us not to abandon exploits and not to arbitrarily rush towards them; in this way, for us, victory will be more brilliant, and for the devil, defeat will be more painful. As soon as we are involved in a struggle, we must stand courageously; and if there is no call to it, then we must calmly wait for the time of exploits in order to show ourselves both unconceited and courageous. Here Christ calls the devil evil, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him and showing that he is not like that by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And the fact that the devil is primarily called the evil one is due to the extraordinary amount of evil that is found in him, and because he, without being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us. Therefore, the Savior did not say: “Deliver us from the evil ones,” but from the evil one, and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes suffer from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil as the culprit of all angry By reminding us of the enemy, making us more cautious and stopping all our carelessness, He further inspires us, introducing us to the King under whose authority we fight, and showing that He is more powerful than all: For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen, says the Savior. So, if His is the Kingdom, then one should not be afraid of anyone, since no one resists Him and no one shares power with Him.
When the Savior says: Thine is the Kingdom, he shows that our enemy is also subordinate to God, although, apparently, he still resists by God’s permission. And he is from among the slaves, although condemned and rejected, and therefore does not dare to attack any of the slaves without first receiving power from above. And what do I say: not one of the slaves? He did not even dare to attack pigs until the Savior himself commanded; nor over the herds of sheep and oxen, until he received power from above.
And strength, says Christ. So, even though you were very weak, you must nevertheless dare, having such a King, who through you can easily accomplish all glorious deeds, and glory forever, Amen,
(Interpretation of St. Matthew the Evangelist
Creations T. 7. Book. 1. SP6., 1901. Reprint: M., 1993. P. 221-226)
Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer in video format
Our Father,
When the skies roar and the oceans roar, they call to You: Our Lord of hosts, Lord of the hosts of heaven!
When the stars fall and fire bursts out of the earth, they say to You: Our Creator!
When in the spring the flowers open their buds and the larks collect dry blades of grass to build a nest for their chicks, they sing to you: Our lord!
And when I raise my eyes to Your throne, I whisper to You: Our Father!
There was a time, a long and terrible time, when people called You Lord of Hosts, or Creator, or Master! Yes, then man felt that he was only a creature among creatures. But now, thanks to Your Only Begotten and Greatest Son, we have learned Your real name. Therefore, I, together with Jesus Christ, decide to call You: Father!
If I call you: Vladyko, I fall on my face in fear before You, like a slave in a crowd of slaves.
If I call you: Creator, I am moving away from You, as the night is separated from the day, or as a leaf is torn from its tree.
If I look at You and tell You: Mister, then I am like a stone among stones or a camel among camels.
But if I open my mouth and whisper: Father, love will take the place of fear, the earth will seem to become closer to heaven, and I will go for a walk with You, as with a friend, in the garden of this light and will share Your glory, Your strength, Your suffering.
Our Father! You are the Father for us all, and I would humiliate both You and myself if I called You: My Father!
Our Father! You care not only about me, one single blade of grass, but about everyone and everything in the world. Your goal is Your Kingdom, not one person. Selfishness in me calls You: My Father, but love calls: Our Father!
In the name of all people, my brothers, I pray: Our Father!
In the name of all the creatures that surround me and with whom You have woven my life, I pray to You: Our Father!
I pray to You, Father of the Universe, for only one thing I pray to You: may the dawn of the day come soon when all people, living and dead, together with angels and stars, animals and stones, will call You by Your true name: Our Father!
Who is in heaven!
We raise our eyes to heaven every time we cry to You, and lower our eyes to the ground when we remember our sins. We are always below, at the very bottom because of our weakness and our sins. You are always on top, as befits Your greatness and Your holiness.
You are in heaven when we are not worthy to receive You. But You joyfully descend to us, into our earthly abodes, when we greedily strive for You and open the doors to You.
Although You condescend to us, You still remain in heaven. You live in heaven, you walk in heaven, and together with heaven you descend into our valleys.
Heaven is far, too far from the person who rejects You in spirit and heart, or who laughs when Your name is mentioned. However, heaven is close, very close to a person who has opened the gates of his soul and is waiting for You, our dearest Guest, to come.
If we compare the most righteous person with You, then You rise above him like the heavens above the valley of the earth, like eternal life above the kingdom of death.
We are made of corruptible, mortal material - how could we stand on the same peak with You, Immortal Youth and Strength!
Our Father Who is always above us, bow down to us and lift us up to Himself. What are we if not tongues created from the dust of Your glory! The dust would be forever mute and would not be able to pronounce Your name without us, Lord. How could the dust know You if not through us? How could You work miracles if not through us?
Oh Our Father!
Hallowed be Thy name;
You do not become holier from our praises, however, by glorifying You, we make ourselves holier. Your name is wonderful! People bicker about names - whose name is better? It is good that Your name is sometimes remembered in these disputes, for at that very moment the speaking tongues become silent in indecision because all the great human names, woven into a beautiful wreath, cannot compare with Your name, Holy God, Most Holy!
When people want to glorify Your name, they ask nature to help them. They take stone and wood and build temples. People decorate altars with pearls and flowers and light fire with plants, their sisters; and they take incense from the cedars, their brothers; and give strength to their voices by the ringing of bells; and call the animals to glorify Your name. Nature is pure as Your stars and innocent as Your angels, Lord! Have mercy on us for the sake of pure and innocent nature, which sings Your holy name with us, Holy God, Most Holy!
How can we glorify Your name?
Maybe innocent joy? - then have mercy on us for the sake of our innocent children.
Maybe suffering? - then look at our graves.
Or self-sacrifice? - then remember the torment of the Mother, Lord!
Your name is stronger than steel and brighter than light. Good is the man who places his hope in You and becomes wiser through Your name.
Fools say: “We are armed with steel, so who can fight us back?” And You destroy kingdoms with tiny insects!
Your name is terrible, Lord! It illuminates and burns like a huge cloud of fire. There is nothing holy or terrible in the world that is not associated with Your name. Oh, Holy God, give me as friends those who have Your name engraved in their hearts, and as enemies those who do not even want to know about You. For such friends will remain my friends until death, and such enemies will fall to their knees before me and submit as soon as their swords are broken.
Holy and terrible is Your name, Holy God, Most Holy! May we remember Your name in every moment of our lives, both in moments of joy and in moments of weakness, and let us remember it in our hour of death, our Heavenly Father, Holy God!
Thy kingdom come;
May Your Kingdom come, O Great King!
We are sick of kings who only imagined themselves to be greater than other people, and who now lie in their graves next to beggars and slaves.
We are sick of the kings who yesterday declared their power over countries and peoples, and today are crying from toothache!
They are disgusting, like clouds that bring ashes instead of rain.
“Look, here is a wise man. Give him the crown! - the crowd shouts. The crown doesn't care whose head it's on. But You, Lord, know the value of the wisdom of the wise and the power of mortals. Do I need to repeat to You what You know? Need I say that the wisest among us ruled over us madly?
“Look, here is a strong man. Give him the crown! - the crowd shouts again; This is a different time, another generation. The crown silently moves from head to head, but You, Omnipotent, you know the price of the spiritual strength of the exalted and the power of the strong. You know about the weakness of the strong and those in power.
We finally understood, after suffering, that there is no other king but You. Our soul passionately desires Your Kingdom and Your Power. Wandering everywhere, haven’t we, living descendants, received enough insults and wounds on the graves of small kings and the ruins of kingdoms? Now we pray to You for help.
Let it appear on the horizon Your Kingdom! Your Kingdom of Wisdom, Fatherland and Strength! Let this land, which has been a battlefield for thousands of years, become a home where You are the master and we are the guests. Come, King, an empty throne awaits You! With You will come harmony, and with harmony comes beauty. All other kingdoms are disgusting to us, that's why we are waiting now You, Great King, You and Your Kingdom!
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Heaven and earth are Your fields, Father. In one field You sow stars and angels, in another you sow thorns and people. The stars move according to Your will. The angels play the stars like a harp, according to Your will. However, a man meets a man and asks: “What is God's will?»
How long does man not want to know Your will? How long will he humble himself before the thorns under his feet? You created man to be equal to the angels and stars, but look - even thorns surpass him.
But you see, Father, a person, if he wants, can glorify Your name better than thorns, just like angels and stars. Oh, You, Spirit-Giver and Voled-Giver, give man Your Will.
Your will wise, clear and holy. Your will moves the heavens, so why not the same will move the earth, which in comparison with the heavens is like a drop before the ocean?
You never get tired, working with wisdom, Our Father. There is no place for any stupidity in Your plan. Now You are as fresh in wisdom and goodness now as on the first day of creation, and tomorrow you will be the same as today.
Your will holy because she is wise and fresh. Holiness is inseparable from You, like air from us.
Anything unholy may ascend to heaven, but nothing unholy will ever come down from heaven, from Your throne, Father.
We pray to You, our Holy Father: make the day come quickly when the will of all people will be wise, fresh and holy, like Your will, and when all creatures on earth will move in harmony with the stars in the sky; and when our planet will sing in choir with all Your amazing stars:
God, teach us!
God, lead us!
Father, save us!
Give us this day our daily bread;
He who gives the body also gives the soul; and He who gives air also gives bread. Your children, merciful Gifter, expect from You everything they need.
Who will brighten their faces in the morning if not You with Your light?
Who will watch over their breath at night while they sleep, if not You, the most tireless of all watchmen?
Where would we sow our daily bread if not in Your field? How could we refresh ourselves if not Your morning dew? How would we live without Your light and Your air? How could we eat if not with the lips that You have given us?
How could we rejoice and thank You for being full, if not for the spirit that You breathed into lifeless dust and created a miracle out of it, You, the most amazing Creator?
I do not ask you for my bread, but about our bread. What good would it do if I had bread, and my brothers starved next to me? It would be better and more just if You took away from me the bitter bread of the selfish, for satisfied hunger is sweeter if shared with a brother. Your will cannot be such that one person thanks You, and hundreds curse You.
Our Father, give us our bread, so that we glorify You in a harmonious choir and so that we joyfully remember our Heavenly Father. Today we pray for today.
This day is great, many new beings were born today. Thousands of new creations, which did not exist yesterday and which will no longer exist tomorrow, are born today under the same sunlight, fly with us on one of Your stars and together with us say to You: our bread.
O great Master! We are Your guests from morning to evening, we are invited to Your meal and wait for Your bread. No one except You has the right to say: my bread. He is yours.
No one except You has the right to tomorrow and to tomorrow’s bread, only You and those of today’s guests whom You invite.
If it is Your will that the end of today be the dividing line between my life and death, I will bow to Your holy will.
If it be Your will, tomorrow I will again be a companion of the great sun and a guest at Your table, and I will repeat my gratitude to You, as I constantly repeat day after day.
And I will bow before Your will again and again, as the angels in heaven do, the Giver of all gifts, physical and spiritual!
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
It is easier for a person to sin and break Your laws, Father, than to understand them. However, it is not easy for You to forgive us our sins if we do not forgive those who sin against us. For You founded the world on measure and order. How can there be balance in the world if You have one measure for us, and we have another for our neighbors? Or if You give us bread, and we give our neighbors a stone? Or if You forgive us our sins, and we execute our neighbors for their sins? How then would measure and order be maintained in the world, O Lawgiver?
And yet You forgive us more than we can forgive our brothers. We defile the earth every day and every night with our crimes, and You greet us every morning with the clear eye of Your sun and every night You send Your merciful forgiveness through the stars, which stand as holy guards at the gates of Your Kingdom, Our Father!
You shame us every day, Most Merciful, for when we expect punishment, You send us mercy. When we wait for Your thunder, You send us a peaceful evening, and when we expect darkness, You give us sunlight.
You are eternally exalted above our sins and always great in Your silent patience.
It’s hard for a fool who thinks that he will alarm You with crazy speeches! He is like a child who angrily throws a pebble into the waves to drive the sea away from the shore. But the sea will only wrinkle the surface of the waters and continue to irritate weakness with its enormous strength.
Look, our sins are common sins, we are all together responsible for the sins of everyone. Therefore, there are no pure righteous people on earth, for all righteous people must take upon themselves some of the sins of sinners. It is hard to be an immaculately righteous person, for there is not a single righteous person who does not bear the burden of at least one sinner on his shoulders. However, Father, the more a righteous person bears the sins of sinners, the more righteous he is.
Our heavenly Father, You, Who send bread from morning to evening to your children and accept their sins as payment, lighten the burden of the righteous and dispel the darkness of sinners!
The earth is full of sins, but also full of prayers; it is full of the prayers of the righteous and the despair of sinners. But isn't despair the beginning of prayer?
And in the end you will be the winner. Your Kingdom will stand on the prayers of the righteous. Your will will become a law for people, just as Your will is a law for angels.
Otherwise, why would You, our Father, hesitate to forgive the sins of mortals, because by doing so You give us an example of forgiveness and mercy?
and do not lead us into temptation,
Oh, how little it takes for a person to turn away from You and turn to idols!
He is surrounded by temptations like storms, and he is weak as foam on the crest of a stormy mountain stream.
If he is rich, he immediately begins to think that he is equal to You, or places You after himself, or even decorates his house with Your faces as luxury items.
When evil knocks at his gates, he falls into the temptation to bargain with You or throw You away completely.
If You call him to sacrifice himself, he becomes indignant. If You send him to death, he trembles.
If You offer him all earthly pleasures, in temptation he poisons and kills his own soul.
If You reveal to his eyes the laws of Your care, he grumbles: “The world is wonderful in itself, and without a Creator.”
We are embarrassed by Your holiness, O our Holy God. When You call us to the light, we, like moths at night, rush into the darkness, but, rushing into the darkness, we seek the light.
A network of many roads stretches out before us, but we are afraid to reach the end of any of them, because temptation awaits and beckons us at any edge.
And the path that leads to You is blocked by many temptations and many, many failures. Before temptation comes, it seems to us that You accompany us like a bright cloud. However, when temptation begins, You disappear. We turn around in concern and silently ask ourselves: what is our mistake, where are you, are you there or are you not?
In all our temptations we ask ourselves: “Are You really our Father?” All our temptations throw into our minds the same questions that the whole world around us asks us day after day and night after night:
“What do you think about the Lord?”
“Where is He and who is He?”
“Are you with Him or without Him?”
Give me strength Father and Creator mine, so that at any moment of my life I can correctly respond to every possible temptation.
The Lord is the Lord. He is where I am and where I am not.
I give Him my passionate heart and stretch out my hands to His holy robes, I reach out to Him like a child to its beloved Father.
How could I live without Him? This means that I could live without myself.
How can I be against Him? This means that I will be against myself.
A righteous son follows his father with honor, peace and joy.
Blow Your inspiration into our souls, Our Father, so that we may become Your righteous sons.
but deliver us from evil.
Who will free us from evil if not You, our Father?
Who will reach out to drowning children if not their father?
Who cares more about the cleanliness and beauty of the house, if not its owner?
You created us from nothing and made something out of us, but we are drawn to evil and again turn into nothing.
We warm to our hearts the snake that we fear more than anything in the world.
With all our strength we rebel against darkness, but still darkness lives in our souls, sowing the germs of death.
We are all unanimously against evil, but evil is slowly creeping into our home and, while we scream and protest against evil, it takes one position after another, getting closer and closer to our hearts.
Oh, Almighty Father, stand between us and evil, and we will lift up our hearts, and evil will dry up like a puddle on the road under the hot sun.
You are high above us and do not know how evil grows, but we are suffocating under it. Look, evil is growing in us day after day, spreading its abundant fruits everywhere.
The sun greets us every day with “Good morning!” and asks what can we show our great King? And we demonstrate only the old, broken fruits of evil. Oh, God, truly dust, motionless and inanimate, is purer than a person who is in the service of evil!
Look, we built our homes in the valleys and hid in caves. It is not at all difficult for You to command Your rivers to flood all our valleys and caves and wipe out humanity from the face of the earth, washing it away from our dirty deeds.
But You are above our anger and our advice. If you had listened to human advice, You would have already destroyed the world to the ground and You Yourself would have perished under the ruins.
O Wise One among fathers! You smile forever in Your divine beauty and immortality. Look, the stars grow from Your smile! With a smile You transform our evil into good, and graft the Tree of Good onto the tree of evil, and with endless patience you ennoble our uncultivated Garden of Eden. You patiently heal and patiently create. You are patiently building Your Kingdom of goodness, Our King and Our Father. We pray to You: free us from evil and fill us with good, for You abolish evil and fill us with good.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
The stars and the sun are citizens of Your Kingdom, Our Father. Enroll us in Your shining army.
Our planet is small and dark, but it is Your work, Your creation and Your inspiration. What else can come out of Your hands but something great? But still, with our insignificance and darkness, we make our habitat small and gloomy. Yes, the earth is small and gloomy every time we call it our kingdom and when we say in madness that we are its kings.
Look how many among us are those who were kings on earth and who now, standing on the ruins of their thrones, are surprised and ask: “Where are all our kingdoms?” There are many kingdoms that do not know what happened to their kings. Blessed and happy is the man who looks into the sky-high heights and whispers the words that I hear: Yours is the Kingdom!
What we call our earthly kingdom is full of worms and fleeting, like bubbles in deep water, like clouds of dust on the wings of the wind! Only You have the true Kingdom, and only Your Kingdom has a King. Take us off the wings of the wind and take us to You, merciful King! Save us from the wind! And make us citizens of Your eternal Kingdom near Your stars and the sun, among Your angels and archangels, let us be close to You, Our Father!
and strength,
Yours is the power, for Yours is the kingdom. False kings are weak. Their royal power lies only in their royal titles, which are truly Your titles. They are wandering dust, and dust flies wherever the wind blows. We are just wanderers, shadows and flying dust. But even when we wander and wander, we are moved by Your power. By Your power we were created and by Your power we will live. If a person does good, he does it with Your power through You, but if a person does evil, he does it with Your power, but through himself. Everything that is done is done by Your power, used for good or abused. If a man, Father, uses Your power according to Your will, then Your power will be Yours, but if a man uses Your power according to His own will, then Your power is called his power and will be evil.
I think, Lord, that when You yourself have Your strength at your disposal, then it is good, but when the beggars who borrowed strength from You proudly dispose of it as their own, it becomes evil. Therefore, there is one Owner, but there are many evil stewards and users of Your power, which You graciously distribute at Your rich table to these unfortunate mortals on earth.
Look at us, Almighty Father, look at us and do not rush to bestow Your power on the dust of the earth until the palaces there are ready for it: good will and humility. Good will - to use the received divine gift for good deeds, and humility - to forever remember that all the power in the universe belongs to You, great Power-Giver.
Your power is holy and wise. But in our hands Your power is in danger of being desecrated and can become sinful and insane.
Our Father, who art in heaven, help us to know and do only one thing: to know that all power is Yours, and to use Your power according to Your will. Look, we are unhappy, because we have divided what is indivisible with You. We separated power from holiness, and separated power from love, and separated power from faith, and finally (and this is the first reason for our fall) we separated power from humility. Father, we pray to You, unite all that your children have divided through foolishness.
We pray You, exalt and protect the honor of Your power, which has been abandoned and dishonored. Forgive us, for although we are like this, we are Your children.
and glory forever.
Your glory is eternal, like You, our King, our Father. It exists in You and does not depend on us. This glory is not from words, like the glory of mortals, but from a true, imperishable essence, such as You. Yes, she is inseparable from You, just as light is inseparable from the hot sun. Who has seen the center and halo of Your glory? Who has become famous without touching Your glory?
Your brilliant glory surrounds us on all sides and looks at us silently, smiling slightly and slightly surprised at our human worries and grumblings. When we become silent, someone secretly whispers to us: you are the children of the glorious Father.
Oh, how sweet is this secret whisper!
What do we desire more than to be children of Your glory? Isn't that enough? Without a doubt, this is enough for a righteous life. However, people want to be the fathers of fame. And this is the beginning and apogee of their misfortunes. They are not content to be children and participants in Your glory, but they want to be fathers and bearers of Your glory. And yet You alone are the only bearer of Your glory. There are many who abuse Your glory, and many who have fallen into self-deception. There is nothing more dangerous in the hands of mortals than fame.
You show Your glory, and people argue about theirs. Your glory is a fact, but human glory is only a word.
Your glory eternally smiles and comforts, but human glory, separated from You, frightens and kills.
Your glory nourishes the unfortunate and guides the meek, but human glory is separated from You. She is Satan's most terrible weapon.
How ridiculous people are when they try to create their own glory, outside of You and apart from You. They are like some fool who hated the sun and tried to find a place where there was no sunlight. He built himself a shack without windows and, entering it, stood in the darkness and rejoiced that he had escaped from the source of light. Such is the fool and such is the inhabitant of darkness, he who tries to create his glory outside of You and apart from You, Immortal Source of Glory!
There is no human glory, just as there is no human power. Yours is both the power and the glory, Our Father. If we do not receive them from You, we will not have them, and we will wither and be carried away by the will of the wind, like dry leaves falling from a tree.
We are pleased to be called Your children. There is no greater honor on earth or in heaven than this honor.
Take from us our kingdoms, our strength and our glory. Everything we once called ours lies in ruins. Take from us what belonged to You from the very beginning. Our whole history has been a foolish attempt to create our kingdom, our power and our glory. Quickly end our old story where we struggled to become masters in Your house, and begin a new story where we strive to become servants in the house that belongs to You. Truly it is better and more glorious to be a servant in Your Kingdom than to be the most important king in our kingdom.
Therefore, make us, Father, servants of Your Kingdom, Your power and Your glory in all generations and forever and ever. Amen!
Complete collection and description: the Lord's Prayer found in the Bible for the spiritual life of a believer.
Reading the Holy Scriptures, viz. Gospel of Matthew (6:9-13), we find the Lord's Prayer very common among Christians, since God himself commanded us this prayer. This is why it is often called the Lord’s Prayer. He commanded it when He himself was praying, and His disciples heard the prayer and asked Him to teach them to pray.
This is the most famous Christian prayer; many people know it by heart. Its text can be read in the Bible, in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The Lord Jesus himself gave it to his disciples when they asked Him to give them a model of prayer on how to pray.
Here is the prayer in Ev. from Luke:
And here is the text of the prayer from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 9 to 13. This option is the most common.
What is this prayer about?
It starts with the words
Our Father(what does our Father mean)
then continues with the words
And Thy kingdom come
the next part of the prayer consists of the words
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us our daily bread
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one
And the Jesus Prayer ends with the following words
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
Jesus Christ said the “Our Father” prayer when his disciples approached Him and asked: “Teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Among the apostles were former followers (disciples) of John the Baptist. The life of Jesus Christ is described in the New Testament by four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But the prayer itself is recorded by the Evangelist Matthew in chapter 6 from verse 9 and in Luke in chapter 11 from the beginning.
Prayer "Our Father"
Our Father, who art in heaven!Hallowed be Thy name,
may your kingdom come,
Thy will be done
as in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors;
and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Text of the Lord's Prayer in Russian
Our Father who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Bible (Matthew 6:9-13)
Text of the Lord's Prayer in Church Slavonic
Our Father who art in heaven,
let Your name shine,
may your kingdom come:
Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth,
give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
skin and we become our debtor,
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages]
Church Slavonic text of prayer according to the Ostrog Bible of 1581
What is ours like you on n[e]b[e]se[x],
May Thy name be with Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on n[e]b[e]si and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts,
We too leave our debtor
and don’t lead us into harm
but deliver on [s] the evil one.
Tags: Our Father, Our Father prayer, Our Father prayer
"Our Father" - the Lord's prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name,
may your kingdom come,
Thy will be done
I am in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and leave us with our lies,
I am the skin and we leave the debtor to ours;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the bow
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. ( Matthew 6:9-13)
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 our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor to us;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie.
Et dimite nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem,
Sed libera nos a malo.
In English (Catholic liturgical version)
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be your 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.
Why did God Himself give a special prayer?
“Only God Himself can allow people to call God Father. He granted this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they withdrew from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted oblivion of insults and the sacrament of grace.”
The Lord's Prayer is given in the Gospels in two versions, more extensive in the Gospel of Matthew and brief in the Gospel of Luke. The circumstances under which Christ pronounces the text of the prayer are also different. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord's Prayer is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Evangelist Luke writes that the apostles turned to the Savior: “Lord! Teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).
Holy Fathers on the Lord's Prayer
What do the words of the Lord's Prayer mean?
Why can you pray differently?
The Lord's Prayer does not exclude the use of other prayers. The Lord did not want that, in addition to the prayer He gave, no one should dare to introduce others, or express their desires differently than He expressed, but only wanted it to serve as a model that would be similar to it in spirit and content. “Since the Lord,” Tertullian notes about this, “after teaching the rules of prayer, he especially commanded: “Seek and you will find” (Luke 11:9), and there are many things about which each, according to his own circumstances, preceded this law with a certain prayer, as a foundation, there is a need to pray, then it is permissible to add others to the requests of this prayer in accordance with the current needs of life. "
How to sing "Our Father". Audio
Choir of the Kyiv Theological Academy
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Choir of the brethren of the Valaam Monastery
Icons "Our Father"
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Find the Lord's Prayer in the Bible
05/20/2011 | Category: Blog | 1 comment
Our Father (also the Lord's Prayer) is the main prayer in Christianity, proposed by Jesus Christ himself and given in the Bible.
Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name,
May your kingdom come
Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. ( Matthew 6:9-13)
Church Slavonic text accepted in the modern Church
Our Father who art in heaven,
may Your name shine,
may your kingdom come:
Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth,
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
just as we make our debtor,
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Original prayer in ancient Greek
Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου· ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου· γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφελήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν· καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. [Ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν.]
The Lord's Prayer is not a model for literal repetition, it is an instruction for the person praying. Jesus showed us the main keys that will open the windows of Heaven and the heart of the Father. Let's study the verses of Matthew 6 together.
“But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly" ( Matthew 6:6).
Jesus teaches us to find a special, secret place to pray. Jesus tells us that it is better to choose a place for prayer where there is the least bustle and noise, where you can hide from the eyes and ears of others. He even teaches us to close the door so that we will not be disturbed or distracted during the time of prayer. This does not apply to general church prayers, this concerns personal prayer life;
And when you pray, do not say too much like the pagans, for they think that for their many words they will be heard ( Matthew 6:7);
The Greek word superfluous means; talk empty talk or chatter. Our prayer should not consist of unnecessary repetitions, a bunch of sentences or empty phrases. He wants to hear sincere words coming from our hearts. We need to be careful not to get carried away with beautiful and correct words, but to say only what is really in our spirit. God, even before we begin our prayer, knows what we will ask, where we will be hypocritical, where we will lie, and what we really need from Him now. Speak to God in essence - say it as it is. Therefore, when praying, do not say too much.
3. God Already Knows My Needs - The Key to Freedom in Prayer
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” ( Matthew 6:8).
Jesus reveals the reason for empty prayers - unbelief that God already knows about all our needs. Sometimes we get so caught up in our everyday life and all sorts of details that the bulk of our prayers are spent on this. The Father watches our life so much that he notices all our needs before us, and not only the present, but also the future.
Praying for little things is not bad, but we need to grow spiritually and move forward. We must trust God and feel comfortable in prayer. Enter freedom and complete trust in prayer. God gives to us first of all because He is the Father and we are children.
4. Well-Addressed Prayer
“Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven...” ( Matthew 6:9)
We need to understand the meaning of this prayer, and not repeat a bunch of words. We address our prayer to God the Father who is in heaven. We come to prayer from the position of children of God. God is our Father, and we are His children. Therefore, we have the right to come to Him in prayer because of Jesus' sacrifice.
It is important to glorify God in prayer. Praise God for who He is and what He has done for us. By putting aside our selfishness, we glorify the One to whom all honor truly belongs. We must pray that God's name will become holy to the people in our hearts, homes and cities. So that people will honor and revere His name.
6. Prayer for the expansion of the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is a reality given to us here and now. And in His prayer He taught people to pray for the coming of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is the fulfillment of God's will on earth according to God's perfect plan. When we pray in accordance with this truth, we place the reins of our lives in the loving hands of God.
7. Prayer for His will to be done
“...thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;”
In this request we acknowledge that God knows what is best for us and we submit our will to His will. God wants to accomplish His plans for the people, churches, and cities of our land, and He expects us to pray about it. And when we pray such a prayer, God has a legitimate reason to change our ways, plans and actions. Change cities, society and churches.
for your church (for the pastor, ministers, laborers in the harvest, co-workers in the ministry)
for your loved ones, friends, acquaintances (for the salvation of those who do not yet have it, fulfilling the will of God)
for your people (city, country, political and spiritual leaders)
Every Christian is essentially a priest and therefore must perform priestly prayers. These are prayers for our neighbors and for the people of God.
“...give us this day our daily bread” ( Matthew 6:11)
This request expresses our dependence on God for our daily sustenance, both physical and spiritual. This is a simple prayer for God to provide us with everything we need for that day. Jesus teaches us not to list it all, but to say; Father, give me everything that I need on this day, material and spiritual and for the soul. Believe that it is God's will for your provision.
9. Forgiveness is the key to effective prayer
“...and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” ( Matthew 6:12)
Ask the Father for forgiveness for your sins and unrighteous deeds. Otherwise, we will soon reap the punishment for these sins. And there is one interesting point; just like we forgive. It's a double-edged sword. We must forgive all those who have offended us or caused us trouble. If we do not forgive our offenders, then God has every legal reason not to answer our prayer. If we continue to judge other people, we ourselves continue to be judged. Forgiving others before or during prayer ensures that God forgives us our iniquities, and He now has the basis to answer most of our needs.
Ask God to forgive you. Forgive yourself and free others from your unforgiveness. Make a decision to forgive those who sin against you.
10. It is important to ask God for protection and protection
“...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” ( Matthew 6:13)
That is, the point is not that God gives us trials, but that we ask Him to help us not fall into them. Simply put, the first part of verse 13 means; Don't let us get in where we don't need to. But, second; free and save us from the attacks of evil, from everything bad, unclean and nasty that is trying to come into our lives. Also, it is worth noting that this applies to both the present time and the future. Free me from the evil that is currently in my life, and free me from the evil that is planned against me or coming. It is important for us to pray so as not to lose our goal and our Lord and not fall into the power of the evil one.
11. Speaking the truth about God is the key to faith and power.
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
It is a declaration of faith that God has heard the prayer and will answer in due time. It is a declaration of praise for answered prayer and a declaration of the fulfillment of God's will in life. Jesus teaches us to end our prayer time by declaring the truth about who God is and who really has all the authority, power, and kingdom. Translated from the Hebrew word "Amen" means “So indeed, truly, so be it”. It was said by worshipers in synagogues in confirmation of the prayer said by the elders.
