The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible
If you have ever wondered exactly where the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible is found, you are not alone. Many Christians recite this prayer regularly but cannot identify which book, chapter, or verse it comes from. Fortunately, the answer is straightforward—and understanding the context makes the prayer even more meaningful.
Quick Answer: The Lord’s Prayer appears in two places in the Bible — Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4. The Matthew version is longer and more familiar, while Luke’s version is shorter and slightly different in wording.
What Is the Lord’s Prayer?
The Lord’s Prayer is the model prayer that Jesus Christ taught His disciples. It stands as one of the most recognized passages in all of Christian Scripture. Rather than being a prayer Jesus prayed for Himself, it serves as a template He gave His followers to guide their prayers.
The prayer covers several core spiritual themes:
- Worship — honoring God’s name
- Submission — seeking God’s will on earth
- Provision — asking for daily needs
- Forgiveness — both receiving and extending it
- Deliverance — protection from temptation and evil
Because it touches every major area of human need, it has served as the cornerstone of Christian prayer for over 2,000 years.
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
To truly understand the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible, you need to look at the setting in which Jesus taught it. In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus introduces this prayer in response to a specific need among His followers.
In Matthew 6, Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount. He warns His listeners against praying for public praise, explaining that true prayer is personal and sincere. He then offers this prayer as a clear example of how to pray with humility and focus.
In Luke 11, the setting is more personal. One of Jesus’ disciples watches Him praying and then asks, “Lord, teach us to pray.” That simple, heartfelt request is what prompts Jesus to share the prayer in Luke’s Gospel.
Both contexts reveal the same truth — Jesus wanted His followers to move away from empty religious ritual and toward genuine, heartfelt communication with God.
The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible
The prayer appears in two separate Gospels, and while the core message stays identical, the wording differs slightly. Here is a complete look at both versions.
Matthew 6:9–13
This is the most complete and widely used version. It sits within the Sermon on the Mount, specifically in a larger section—Matthew 6:1–20—where Jesus teaches about giving, fasting, and prayer.
Matthew 6:9–13 (NIV):
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Many traditional church services add the doxology at the end—”For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” However, this closing line does not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts, and scholars generally consider it a later liturgical addition.
Luke 11:2–4
Luke’s version is shorter and appears in a different context. Nevertheless, it carries the same essential message and structure as Matthew’s account.
Luke 11:2–4 (NIV):
“Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Notice that Luke uses “sins” where Matthew uses “debts,” and Luke omits the line about deliverance from evil. These differences reflect the individual purposes and audiences of each Gospel writer rather than any contradiction between the two accounts.
Luke 11:1–10
Reading beyond just the prayer itself gives you the full picture of why Jesus taught it. Luke 11:1–10 provides this broader context. After sharing the prayer, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent friend—a story about someone who keeps knocking on a neighbor’s door until he receives what he needs.
This parable, found in Luke 11:5–10, reinforces a key principle: persistence in prayer matters. Jesus concludes with the well-known words, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 6:1–20
Similarly, reading Matthew 6:1–20 gives you the full context for the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible as Matthew records it. In this section, Jesus addresses three religious practices—giving to the needy (6:1–4), prayer (6:5–15), and fasting (6:16–18). Therefore, the Lord’s Prayer sits at the center of a broader teaching on authentic, private devotion to God.
The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional)
The traditional version of the Lord’s Prayer, widely used in liturgical worship, blends the Matthew text with centuries of church tradition. It typically reads:
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
This wording draws on older English translations, such as the King James Version (KJV), and has shaped Catholic, Anglican, and many Protestant worship traditions for centuries.
The Lord’s Prayer (Contemporary)
Modern Bible translations offer more accessible wording. For example, the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT) use plain, everyday language that makes the text easier for new readers to understand.
Contemporary versions replace “trespasses” with “sins” or “debts,” swap “art” for “are,” and simplify phrases throughout. Despite the updated language, the meaning stays the same, and the prayer loses none of its spiritual depth.
FAQ Section
Q1: Is the Lord’s Prayer only in the New Testament?
Yes. The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible appears only in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. While the Old Testament contains many psalms and prayers, the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught it belongs exclusively to the New Testament.
Q2: Why are there two versions of the Lord’s Prayer?
Matthew and Luke wrote their Gospels for different audiences and recorded Jesus’ teaching in different settings. Matthew places it in the Sermon on the Mount, while Luke records it as a response to a disciple’s personal request. Both versions are authentic and complement each other well.
Q3: Should Christians memorize the Lord’s Prayer?
Memorization is beneficial, but Jesus’ deeper intention was that this prayer serve as a model, not a script. He wanted His followers to use it as a guide for the kind of prayer they should offer—one that honors God, seeks His will, and honestly expresses human need.
Q4: What does “hallowed be your name” mean?
“Hallowed” means holy or set apart. This phrase expresses worship, declaring that God’s name deserves the highest reverence and honor above all things.
Q5: Does the doxology (“For yours is the kingdom…”) belong in the original Bible?
Biblical scholars agree that the doxology entered Christian worship services later as a liturgical addition. It does not appear in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of Matthew’s Gospel, though it has become a beloved part of traditional worship.
