Before we begin to think about the Lord’s Prayer
in detail there are certain general facts which we will do
well to remember about it.
We must note, first of all, that this is a prayer
which Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Both Matthew
and Luke are clear about that. Matthew sets the whole
Sermon on the Mount in the context of the disciples
(Matthew 5:1); and Luke tells us that Jesus taught this
prayer in response to the request of one of His disciples
(Luke 11:1). The first thing to remember about the
Lord’s Prayer is that it is a prayer which only a disciple
can pray; it is a prayer which only one who is pledged
and committed to Jesus Christ can take upon his lips
with any meaning. The Lord’s Prayer is not a child’s
prayer, as it is o often regarded; it is, in fact, not mean-
ingful for a child. The Lord’s Prayer is not the Family
Prayer as it is sometimes called, unless by the word
family we mean the family of the Church. The Lord’s
Prayer is specifically and definitely stated to be the dis-
ciple’s prayer; and only on the lips of a disciple has the
prayer its full meaning. To put it in a another way, the
Lord’s Prayer can only really be prayed when the man
who prays it knows what he is saying, and he cannot
know that until he has entered into discipleship.
We must note the order of the petitions in the
Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with
God and with the glory of God; the second three peti-
tions have to do with our needs and our necessities.
That is to say, God is first given His supreme place, and
then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our needs
and desires. It is only when God is given His proper
place that all things fall in to their proper places.
Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of
God to our desires; prayer is always an attempt to sum-
mit our wills to the will of God.
The second part of the prayer, the part of it which
deals with our needs and our necessities, is a marvel-
ously wrought unity. It deals with the three essential
needs of man, and the three spheres of time within
which man moves. First, it asks for bread, thereby ask-
ing for that which is necessary for the maintenance of
life, and thereby bringing the needs of the present to
the throne of God. Second, it ask for forgiveness,
thereby bringing the past in the presence of God, and of
God’s forgiving grace. Third, it asks for help in tempta-
tion, thereby committing all the future into the hands of
God. In these three brief petitions, we are taught to lay
the present, the past, and the future, all before the
footstool of the grace of God.
But not only is this carefully wrought prayer a
prayer which lays the whole of life in the presence of
God; it is also a prayer which brings the whole of God
to our lives. When we ask for bread to sustain our
earthly lives, that request immediately directs our
thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sus-
tainer of all life. When we ask for forgiveness, that re-
quest immediately directs our thoughts to God the Son,
Jesus Christ our savior and Redeemer. When we ask
for help for future temptation, that request immediately
directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the Com-
forter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the Guide and
the Guardian of our way.
In the most amazing way this brief second part of
the Lord’s Prayer takes the present, the past, and the
future, the whole of man’s life, and presents them to
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, to
God in all his fullness. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus
teaches us to bring the whole of life to the whole of
God, and to bring the whole of God to the whole of life.
Before we begin to think about the Lord’s Prayer
in detail there are certain general facts which we will do
well to remember about it.
We must note, first of all, that this is a prayer
which Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Both Matthew
and Luke are clear about that. Matthew sets the whole
Sermon on the Mount in the context of the disciples
(Matthew 5:1); and Luke tells us that Jesus taught this
prayer in response to the request of one of His disciples
(Luke 11:1). The first thing to remember about the
Lord’s Prayer is that it is a prayer which only a disciple
can pray; it is a prayer which only one who is pledged
and committed to Jesus Christ can take upon his lips
with any meaning. The Lord’s Prayer is not a child’s
prayer, as it is o often regarded; it is, in fact, not mean-
ingful for a child. The Lord’s Prayer is not the Family
Prayer as it is sometimes called, unless by the word
family we mean the family of the Church. The Lord’s
Prayer is specifically and definitely stated to be the dis-
ciple’s prayer; and only on the lips of a disciple has the
prayer its full meaning. To put it in a another way, the
Lord’s Prayer can only really be prayed when the man
who prays it knows what he is saying, and he cannot
know that until he has entered into discipleship.
We must note the order of the petitions in the
Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with
God and with the glory of God; the second three peti-
tions have to do with our needs and our necessities.
That is to say, God is first given His supreme place, and
then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our needs
and desires. It is only when God is given His proper
place that all things fall in to their proper places.
Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of
God to our desires; prayer is always an attempt to sum-
mit our wills to the will of God.
The second part of the prayer, the part of it which
deals with our needs and our necessities, is a marvel-
ously wrought unity. It deals with the three essential
needs of man, and the three spheres of time within
which man moves. First, it asks for bread, thereby ask-
ing for that which is necessary for the maintenance of
life, and thereby bringing the needs of the present to
the throne of God. Second, it ask for forgiveness,
thereby bringing the past in the presence of God, and of
God’s forgiving grace. Third, it asks for help in tempta-
tion, thereby committing all the future into the hands of
God. In these three brief petitions, we are taught to lay
the present, the past, and the future, all before the
footstool of the grace of God.
But not only is this carefully wrought prayer a
prayer which lays the whole of life in the presence of
God; it is also a prayer which brings the whole of God
to our lives. When we ask for bread to sustain our
earthly lives, that request immediately directs our
thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sus-
tainer of all life. When we ask for forgiveness, that re-
quest immediately directs our thoughts to God the Son,
Jesus Christ our savior and Redeemer. When we ask
for help for future temptation, that request immediately
directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the Com-
forter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the Guide and
the Guardian of our way.
In the most amazing way this brief second part of
the Lord’s Prayer takes the present, the past, and the
future, the whole of man’s life, and presents them to
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, to
God in all his fullness. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus
teaches us to bring the whole of life to the whole of
God, and to bring the whole of God to the whole of life.
know that until he has entered into discipleship.
We must note the order of the petitions in the
Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with
God and with the glory of God; the second three peti-
tions have to do with our needs and our necessities.
That is to say, God is first given His supreme place,
and then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our
needs and desires. It is only when God is given His
proper place that all things fall in to their proper
places. Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the
will of God to our desires; prayer is always an attempt
to summit our wills to the will of God.
The second part of the prayer, the part of it
which deals with our needs and our necessities, is a
marvelously wrought unity. It deals with the three
essential needs of man, and the three spheres of time
within which man moves. First, it asks for bread,
thereby asking for that which is necessary for the
maintenance of life, and thereby bringing the needs of
the present to the throne of God. Second, it ask for
forgiveness, thereby bringing the past in the presence
of God, and of God’s forgiving grace. Third, it asks for
help in temptation, thereby committing all the future
into the hands of God. In these three brief petitions,
we are taught to lay the present, the past, and the fu-
ture, all before the footstool of the grace of God.
But not only is this carefully wrought prayer a
prayer which lays the whole of life in the presence of
God; it is also a prayer which brings the whole of God
to our lives. When we ask for bread to sustain our
earthly lives, that request immediately directs our
thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sus-
tainer of all life. When we ask for forgiveness, that re-
quest immediately directs our thoughts to God the
Son, Jesus Christ our savior and Redeemer. When we
ask for help for future temptation, that request imme-
diately directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the
Comforter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the
Guide and the Guardian of our way.

In the most amazing way this brief second part of
the Lord’s Prayer takes the present, the past, and the
future, the whole of man’s life, and presents them to
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, to
God in all his fullness. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus
teaches us to bring the whole of life to the whole of God,
and to bring the whole of God to the whole of life.
The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew by William Barclay