Praying the Lord's Prayer - Part 1
- Rebecca Montrone
- 13 hours ago
- 11 min read
Updated: 28 minutes ago
Such vast eternal riches revealed in just a few words!
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Can you imagine being able to look God right in the eye as you would any other person and ask Him any question - any question at all! - you wanted to?
The New Testament account of Jesus' life is so familiar to those of us schooled in the Bible, that we can sometimes fail to think about what it was to be among Jesus' companions while He was living as a human.
It appears that although the disciples knew early on that Jesus was “The Messiah,” the enormity of what that actually meant seems to be something that became more and more evident on a very gradual basis. Even as He was headed toward the cross – to complete the very purpose for which He had come in the first place – they still seemed a bit vague.
Understanding Who Jesus Was Took Some Time to Bloom
Following the gospel timeline, we can see that that the disciples had an early inkling of who Jesus was, even if they did not yet grasp the full weight of that reality.
Very early on, recognition begins with Nathanael, who responds to Jesus’ supernatural knowledge by declaring Him “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel” (John 1:49). The spiritually sensitive Jews were always on the lookout for their Messiah. Here we see that Nathanael was well versed in the many Old Testament Scriptures that pointed to the coming of the Messiah.
Sidebar: What Were the Jews Expecting in a Messiah? By the first century, many Jews were eagerly awaiting the promised Messiah—a descendant of David who would restore Israel’s kingdom, defeat her enemies, and reign in righteousness (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Isaiah 9:6–7; Jeremiah 23:5–6). Living under Roman occupation, hopes for a deliverer often carried strong political overtones. The Messiah was expected to liberate, restore, and reign. What was less widely understood was that this Deliverer would first suffer (Isaiah 53), die, and rise again—and that He would be far more than a national king. Jesus did not merely fit into their expectations; He fulfilled—and radically redefined—them.
Around the same time, Andrew tells his brother Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41), and Philip echoes this confidence when he tells Nathanael that they have found The One written about by Moses and the prophets (John 1:45). At this early stage, the disciples clearly believe Jesus is the long-awaited Christ.
However, as they continue walking with Him, their language indicates a deeper understanding. After Jesus calms the storm, the disciples collectively confess, “Truly You are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Their understanding is growing—not merely that He is sent by God, but that He possesses divine authority.
After asking Peter "Who do people say I am?" and Peter answers, Jesus asks Peter point-blank: "Who do you say that I am?" It is then that Peter blurts out,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus then affirms that this insight came not from human reasoning, but from God Himself. In other words, recognizing Christ as God was not something deducted by the brain but informed to Peter's spirit by the very Spirit of God.
As the time draws near, Jesus speaks plainly about His suffering, death, and resurrection, but we are told they “did not understand” and were afraid to ask Him what He meant (Mark 9:32). They continue to argue about status and position in what they still imagine to be an earthly kingdom (Luke 9:46).
On the night before His crucifixion, Thomas admits their confusion: “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5).
Immediately after, Philip makes a request that reveals just how incomplete their understanding still is: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John 14:8).
Jesus replies:
“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Only after the resurrection does the full realization finally break through, when Thomas declares to the risen Christ, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
This sequence makes the disciples’ request—“Lord, teach us to pray”—all the more striking.
They are asking how to speak to God, while still coming to terms with the fact that they have been speaking with God all along!
It's easy to Monday-morning quarterback just about anything in retrospect, and we can easily, with a dismissive and patronizing attitude, shake our heads at what looks like the "slowness" of Jesus' closest followers when it comes to understanding spiritual things.
These disciples deserve credit, however, for asking Jesus to teach them the most valuable tool in life they could possibly have in their spiritual toolkit:
"LORD, teach us to pray."
Because... if we know how to pray, we have the secret of entering into God's presence and being heard...
"And Jesus said...
"Pray ye in this way" (Mt. 6:9)
It's vitally important to understand before we dig into the lines of this "prayer" that Jesus wasn't teaching them a set of words to memorize and repeat back verbatim. It isn't bad to do that if we are engaged with the words we are speaking, it just isn't what He meant for us to do. The key to understanding this is that he says:
"After this manner..."
The Original Language
The Greek phrase translated “after this manner” is:
οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε houtōs oun proseuchesthe
Breaking it down briefly:
οὕτως (houtōs) – thus, in this way, in this manner, like this
οὖν (oun) – therefore or so then
προσεύχεσθε (proseuchesthe) – pray (present imperative, meaning an ongoing instruction)
A very literal rendering is:
“Therefore, pray like this.” or “Pray in this way.”
This wording strongly suggests pattern or model, not merely a formula to be repeated.
The Immediate Context Strengthens This
Just two verses earlier, Jesus warns against mindless repetition in prayer:
“When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Matthew 6:7
That warning sits immediately before what is called The Lord’s Prayer, making it unlikely that Jesus intended the prayer to become a mechanical script recited without thought.
Instead, He gives His disciples a framework for approaching God. Aren't you glad? This isn't something that is impersonal; some kind of incantational formula with magical influence with God. It isn't about saying a certain number of "Our Father's," as is done in some church traditions. Oh, no. God actually hates the saying of religious anythings without true belief and without the engagement of the person's spirit.
Don't get me wrong! Some people do engage in the repetition of prayers with their spirits and minds, using the words as a means of removing distractions and concentrating on being in His presence. I am not trying to imply that anyone who repeats a set prayer is necessarily doing anything wrong. In my private devotions there was a time I enjoyed going through the liturgy in the Lutheran Hymnal as part of my worship time. Repeating psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is strongly encouraged in the scripture, and there's also the advantage of helping put things into our memories.
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
These passages clearly show that repeated or structured forms of worship are not the problem—the emphasis is on the heart engaged in genuine praise.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me.” Matthew 15:8–9 (quoting Isaiah)
“I hate, I despise your feast days… Take away from Me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols.” Amos 5:21, 23
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? says the LORD… I am weary of bearing them.” Isaiah 1:11, 14
“For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” Psalm 51:16–17
“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6
“These people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me.” Isaiah 29:13
The Meaning of “after this manner,” then...
In other words, Jesus is not saying:
“Repeat these exact words, and you will have prayed.”
He is saying something closer to:
“Let your prayers follow this pattern.”
LET'S DIG IN & Begin to Walk Reverently Through
This Wondrous Prayer Pattern!
I wonder what holy nuggets we might discover! 🕵🏻♀️🙂
FIRST LINE
“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
One sentence that encompasses the origin, purpose, and meaning of all life:
In this single opening line, Jesus:
anchors all of existence in its source (“Our Father”)
locates ultimate reality in God’s sovereign dwelling (“which art in heaven”)
and declares the supreme purpose of creation (“hallowed be Thy name”).
“Our Father”
Jesus teaches us, first, how to address God, and it's WONDERFUL for us!
“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” Malachi 2:10
God is the origin of our existence—Creator and Father in the most foundational sense.
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
Just think about it! There are many ways we could address Him. He could have told us to say:
“Our Creator”
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
“It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Psalm 100:3
“Our Lord and King”
“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king.” Isaiah 33:22
“The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice.” Psalm 97:1
“The Most High God”
“I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performs all things for me.” Psalm 57:2
“The Almighty”
“I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1
“The Lord of Hosts”
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3
“The Ancient of Days”
“The Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow.” Daniel 7:9
“The High and Lofty One”
“Thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.” Isaiah 57:15
“The King Eternal”
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever.” 1 Timothy 1:17
Every one of these titles is true and magnificent. Yet when Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray, He chooses something astonishingly personal.
“Our... Father...”
“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Romans 8:15
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” 1 John 3:1
He is both the origin of our being and the tender Father who draws near in covenant love. Wow!
“Which art in heaven”
Jesus reminds us that this Father is not an abstract nebulous entity but is literally tangible. He reigns from a real and absolutely glorious dwelling.
“The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven.” Psalm 11:4
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.’” Isaiah 66:1
“Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” Psalm 115:3
He lives way "up there!" So far away, right? WRONG! This is one of the many wondrously confounding things about God. He is in heaven, and, then, He is...right here...
“Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!” Psalm 139:7–8
“In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
Yes, for sure, He is enthroned in heaven, yet He is nearer to us than our own breath!
Though God is with us always while we are on earth, the Bible also reveals the believer’s longing to be with Him in that dwelling place:
The "house of this tabernacle" refers to our physical body, where our spirit dwells before it dies. After that, the believer exits earth and joins God in His home in heaven! 😁
“But our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:20
“In My Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.” Psalm 73:25
Heaven is not imaginary comfort—it is His habitation, and the believer’s ultimate home.
“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me, for Thou lovest Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24
And just like that… we have reached the end of today’s Dig and we haven’t even made it through the first line of the prayer!
Praying The Lord's Prayer.
Jesus gave us just a few simple words to begin with, but they contain an astonishing amount of truth. We’ve already seen that when He teaches us to pray, He invites us to address the Creator of the universe with the tender and relational words:
“Our Father”
Not merely our King or our Maker—though He certainly is those things—but our Father, who welcomes His children into His presence.
We also paused to consider where our prayers are directed: to the God who reigns in heaven. The Scriptures remind us that heaven is His dwelling place, the seat of His throne and glory. And yet, at the very same time, this God who inhabits heaven is never far from us. He is nearer than our own breath and has promised that those who belong to Him will one day dwell with Him there.
That alone gives us plenty of wondrous thoughts to meditate on!
Yet, amazingly, we have not even finished the first sentence of the prayer.
Next time we will turn to the final phrase of that opening line—one that may be the most important of all:
“Hallowed be Thy name.”
Because in the end, everything about our lives—and indeed everything about all creation—is ultimately intended to bring honor and glory to His wondrous Name.
Next time, we’ll take a deep dig into what it really means for God’s name to be hallowed… and why that simple phrase sits right at the beginning of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.
Then, we'll keep moving through each line of this Perfect Prayer Pattern:
Our Father ✔️
Which art in heaven ✔️
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our debts
Lead us not into temptation
Deliver us from evil
A contemporary worship song that captures this beautiful truth about God’s fatherly heart is Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin. It reminds us that the God who reigns in heaven is not distant or indifferent, but a loving Father who knows His children and invites them to come near.
Then, a song that captures the wonder of entering God’s heavenly presence is I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe. It reflects the awe we can only begin to picture now—yet the very reality Jesus points us toward when He reminds us that our Father’s dwelling place is in heaven.
Interested in knowing how to enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Say a Salvation Prayer and Receive Jesus Christ Today.
Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide.
Thank you so much for writing your blog! It blesses me and I love reading through it. I just wanted you to know! 😊🙏