There is a teaching called the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible. You may have recited it very often, in the morning, before meals, while at work, or when you feel like praying.
You are not alone cause I did the same. I remember how we used to sing it as a chorus in the assembly some years back. I am sure many people still do.
However, I have been wondering if that was necessary in the first place because each time I look at it in the scriptures, I do not see the recitation of the prayer at all.
Did I stir up something? Hold on! Let us do a study of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible. We will consider what it means, where it is in the Bible, and how it applies to believers.
Meanwhile, you should read our previous article titled, I Have Kept The Faith Explained.
What Is The Lord’s Prayer?
There are two components here: the Lord and His Prayer. The phrase Lord’s Prayer is not a terminology trackable to anyone in the Bible, but it applies to the person of Christ Jesus and what He said to his disciples as accounted in the Gospels.
For instance, Joseph told you that you should sing like this, ‘I love you, Lord. Thank you for saving me, thank you, my Lord. Help me to live for your glory, Lord.’ And you decide to call that Joseph’s Song.
What I did there was to point out something many people do not consider when dealing with what is called the Lord’s Prayer: the fact that it referred to an instruction on how to pray and not a necessity for recitation.
Therefore, the Lord’s prayer refers to the way and manner the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray. With that, let me say that praying and learning how to pray are two different things.
To pray refers to the act of communion, while how to pray refers to the outline or guide leading to the act. There is a distinction there, and understanding the difference will make it more meaningful and worthwhile.
Take, for instance, I am a writer. Before writing, I outline what I want to write about. That outline can be taken as writing even though it is not the writing. Its purpose is to help me coordinate the writing the way I should and cover the things I should. That applies to what is the Lord’s Prayer and can be a reason why no one in the Bible, aside from the Lord Jesus, reportedly repeated the Prayer. Instead, they all learned from it.
Where Is The Lord’s Prayer In The Bible?
While many people want to know where the Lord’s Prayer is in the scriptures, others ask, How many times is the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible? The answer is simply two times.
The two portions of scripture accorded the tag of the Lord’s Prayer include Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4. The first portion is seen as the full version of the prayer, and the second is the short version.
Now, let us see the short and the full version of the prayer in the King James Version of the Bible.
The Short Version Of The Lord’s Prayer KJV
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” Luke 11:1–4.
The Full Version Of The Lord’s Prayer KJV
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9–13.
What Is The Correct Version Of The Lord’s Prayer?
Luke accounted that Jesus was praying, and afterward, one of His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, while Matthew’s account shows that Jesus was teaching on the mount and then taught how to pray.
Luke’s account presents a direct instruction from Jesus to say the prayer, and according to Matthew’s account, He taught the manner of Prayer in contrast to the way the hypocrites and the heathen prayed (with the word for heathen as ethnikoi, referring to the pagans).
Both versions account for the same teaching but in different scenes. However, the complete sermon on the Lord’s Prayer, I believe, starts from Matthew 6:5 through 15.
The Lord’s Prayer For Today
One question stands out: Do Believers in Christ need to repeat the Lord’s Prayer today? Not necessarily. But can we say the prayer? Yes. Notwithstanding, if the teaching was for recitation each time we pray, we could have found ‘Our Father Who Art In Heaven’ all over the Acts and the Epistles.
The point is to understand the teaching and pray with that understanding. For instance, Paul requested for prayers to be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men, while today, men are praying for other men to die. The question is, Who is with or without an understanding of how to pray to God? Is it the person used to reciting the five verses of teaching or the one who communicates from an understanding of the teaching?
Extensively, the pattern of prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray embodied the message of acknowledgment, awareness, and requests centered on God’s ability to perform.
The disciples were to approach God as their Heavenly Father, become aware of His Kingdom, including His plans and will on the Earth, request God’s provisions for life, and treat people from the place of love while relying on God to deliver them from the evil one.
The events reported in the Acts followed the same pattern, and the same goes with the teachings in the Epistles.
Therefore, my understanding of the Lord’s Prayer for today is not as prayer points for recitation but an affirmation of who God is to believers and what He has done for us in Christ Jesus.
