The Amazing Lord’s Prayer — Our Father in Heaven (Line-by-Line Explanation)

When we pray, we open up our heart and soul to God and we converse with him having faith that He is listening to us. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Himself prayed often. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how they should pray, “The Lord’s Prayer” is the one He taught His disciples. The Lord’s Prayer is an ideal prayer, and it sets a pattern of prayer for every follower of Christ.

Line-by-Line Explanation of Our Father in Heaven Prayer

Here we present a line-by-line explanation of the famous Lord’s Prayer (Our Father in Heaven).

Our Father Which art in heaven: This part of the Lord’s prayer affirms that God is our real father. He is not only the Father of Jesus Christ but also for all of us. We should pray to Him as brothers and sisters of Jesus. This title instructs us that we must address our prayers to God alone. God is our Almighty Father, who should be revered and praised above everything.

We should recognize the Loving Father as the one true God, the creator and ruler of the universe. God resides in Heaven, but He is omnipresent and His presence can be felt in any place. He is all-knowing and powerful. Though heaven is way above the earth, we have full access to God’s throne room through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Hallowed be Thy Name: This part of the Lord’s prayer is about the holiness of God. Hallowed means holy or sanctified. “Hallowed be thy name” infers that God’s name is holy and He is the epitome of sanctity. Though He is our Father, He is still God, and we should respect, adore, and honor Him. We should acknowledge God’s holiness and recognize that He is righteous and just in all His works. We should revere and respect His powerful presence in our lives. We should strive to be holy and faithful so we can have a right relationship with our Father. This prayer is an ode of homage to our Holy God.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven: This part of the Lord’s prayer is a petition that is two-fold. We know that God, who reigns with compassion and justice, will live with us in heaven and there will be no hunger or sickness there. First, we pray that the Kingdom of God surrounds us every day and that takes its form on earth so we can live in a world full of faith, goodness, kindness, compassion, justice, and love.

This part of the Lord’s prayer also refers to the second coming of Christ when He will establish His Kingdom for a thousand years here on earth. We also look forward to the promise of a new heaven and earth when the faithful will live with God in His kingdom where there is no crying, pain, or death. We pray that God’s grace surrounds this world so that people live in peace and love each other like in heaven.

Second, in this part of the Lord’s prayer, we pray that God’s will be done on earth and we willfully surrender to the will of the Almighty Creator. It means that we do all things to please our Father in heaven, committing ourselves to Jesus so that we accomplish His will on earth, which is praising and loving Him as well as loving others as ourselves. We humbly request our Lord to give us the strength and grant us His mercy to live a life that glorifies Him and show what is right, true, and good.

Give us this day our daily bread: In this part of the Lord’s prayer, we ask God to provide us everything we need on a daily basis such as food, clothing, and shelter. The Bible tells us that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3). So, we ask God to grant all that we need for this day, both physically and spiritually.

Just as good food nourishes the body, God’s Living Word nourishes the soul. It means meditating on the Word of God and communion with Jesus, who is the Bread of Life from heaven. God is our loving provider and we should pray for spiritual sustenance so we gain strength to spread the Good News to the world through our words and actions.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors: Forgiveness means we are sorry for something that we have done, and we do not want to repeat it. This part of the Lord’s prayer is the toughest to follow as we ask God to forgive us for our mistakes after we have forgiven the sins of others against us. This is challenging as it requires us to commit the act of forgiving before God responds.

We beg the Lord to show us mercy not because we deserve it but because we do not. We must be merciful to others, more importantly, when we think they do not deserve it, just as God showed His mercy toward us when we did not deserve it.

God’s infinite wisdom is in action here. If there is bitterness or anger in us, our hearts are filled with hate and not love. If we are holding a grudge against someone, how can we ask our Loving God to be merciful and forgive our sins? Even though it is difficult for us to forgive people who hurt us badly, we can seek God’s help to forgive them.

God will forgive us if we forgive others, as it leads us to a transformed life filled with patience and grace. We reflect God’s character when we forgive, and this enables us to be united with Him and walk confidently every step of our lives with Him.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: This part of the Lord’s prayer is about staying away from temptation and asking God to help us to keep us away from it and protect us from the evil in this world. Temptation and sin go hand in hand, and many of us find it difficult to resist temptation, which is why we need our Holy God to lead us away from sin. Because of the free will given to us by our Creator, we are always tempted to do things we are not supposed to do.

However, God always provides a way out of any temptation we face. Temptations are the works of the evil one. We ask God for His guiding hand over us to keep us from entering into trials, which test our obedience to God, and also keep us under His mighty wings when we face such trials.

Evil is a byproduct of temptation, and we should be aware of its deceptive nature. The evil one is always trying to make us do things against God’s laws and steer us to the wrong path. However, he has no power over our Almighty God, and when we pray to God for protection, He will surely shield us if we continually seek Him with all our hearts.

We ask God to be delivered from the evil one, who is the author of all evils, past, present, and future. Our God is gracious enough to liberate us from the grip of the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever: This part of the Lord’s prayer is a recognition of God’s eternal nature and our highest reverence and respect for His majesty, righteousness, and holiness. We are reminded that all glory and power belong to God, and His kingdom will last forever. God will never die, and He will always remain the same and never change. It is a blissful feeling that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and everlasting.

Summary of the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father in Heaven)

The Lord’s prayer teaches us that when we have God on our side, we will always win. The Lord’s prayer also reminds us that we should be grateful to God and love Him as He deserves to be. Though there are many prayers which we recite, the Lord’s Prayer is the perfect prayer as it summarizes the major aspects of our faith. When we meditate on each petition of the Lord’s prayer it reveals the most desirable way to go before our Father’s presence, requesting His grace, guidance, and protection.

The Lord’s prayer summarizes what we must do in this world. Revere God, accept His will, ask our needs, forgive others, flee from temptation, and resist evil. Next time, when you struggle to pray, say the Lord’s prayer with a blissful and grateful heart.

Let us say the Lord’s prayer with reverence and sincerity.

The Lord’s Prayer

Do you find yourself struggling with how to pray and what to pray for? Read our popular prayers for various situations and needs that are directed to fulfill personal needs or deep spiritual enlightenment. These prayers will comfort, help, and guide you when you are worried, suffering loss, or facing uncertainty in your life.