Lord's Prayer Explained: 7 Priorities Jesus Taught

What Is the Lord's Prayer and Why Is It Important?

Over the years, I've asked many questions about the Bible and how to please God, often wishing Jesus had written a commentary to clarify things. In a way, that's exactly what gave us the Lord's Prayer—Jesus' specific answer to a direct question about prayer.

So, what is the Lord's Prayer and why is it important: As His disciples witnessed Jesus' perfect prayer life, they asked Him to teach them how to pray. In response, He taught them the "Lord's Prayer"—a model of seven priorities that should guide our prayer life. It's important because it's exactly what Jesus Christ taught about God-honoring prayer.

While prayer in general is a huge topic, let's look more closely at each element of the Lord's Prayer and how to apply these seven priorities in your daily prayer life.

If you would like a more in-depth discussion on this topic, we have a great resource we'd like to recommend. Check out our book, Faithful in Prayer – Seven Biblical Priorities in Prayer.

What is the Lord's Prayer

The contents of the Lord's Prayer are specifically recorded for us in two of the four Gospels.

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'" (Matthew 6:9–13)

And

"It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.' And He said to them, 'When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:1–4)

Right away, you'll probably notice some slight differences between the two quotes. Keep in mind that Matthew and Luke very well may be describing two different occasions in Jesus' ministry—the greater contexts of these two passages suggest that. In Luke, Jesus is responding to a direct question about how to pray. In Matthew, this appears to be part of a broader teaching moment; an instance which He provides further instruction about prayer. So, instead of the differences, let's focus on the similarities.

Through these two teachings, Jesus provides a prayer model for His disciples. (Maybe this should be called the "Disciple's Prayer.") We call it a model because this isn't a magic formula. It isn't a mystic mantra that's meant to be repeatedly chanted in order to be heard by or curry favor with God. Matthew records that Jesus said, "Pray, then, in this way" (Matthew 6:9; italics added). The Lord's Prayer wasn't meant to be something blindly repeated or mindlessly replayed in our minds. It is a model for ordering and prioritizing prayer in a way that honors God and focuses the Christian on matters of first importance.

How do we know that to be the case? That's where the greater context Matthew provides comes into play. Immediately before the instruction in verses 9–13, Jesus said this:

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." (Matthew 6:5–8)

So, rather than giving His followers something that was to be repeated by rote, He was impressing upon them the things that were critical to a healthy, God-honoring prayer life.

The Seven Priorities of Prayer

Focusing on Matthew's account, we can easily see the seven priorities Jesus expected to be part of a Christian's prayer.

The First Priority

Jesus' first priority is addressing God the Father, who is in heaven. For many Christians, this may seem obvious. Of course we're praying to the Father who's in heaven! Who else would we pray to?

But the problem is, mankind has always struggled to obtain and maintain a correct understanding of God. Someone once said that the human heart is an idol factory; there is a constant temptation to make (or remake) God in an image that suits our preferences, contrary to how He's revealed Himself to be.

A great example of this can be seen when Aaron and the children of Israel produced a golden calf and called it God. While Moses was up on the mountain, meeting face-to-face with YHWH, the people below were casting an idol that fit their understanding of who their God was.

"Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, 'Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'... He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.'" (Exodus 32:1–4)

Aaron wasn't trying to convince them to follow a different god. He was telling them that this was God.

Through ignorance or hard-heartedness, we often rebel against who God has revealed Himself to be. Have you ever heard someone say, "My God would never..." or "I don't think Jesus would..."? If these statements contradict Scripture, we may be creating an idol in our own likeness.

The first priority in prayer is to orient our hearts and minds to be praying to God who is in heaven, not the god we imagine is in heaven. We must learn to humble ourselves and worship God as He has revealed Himself through His word. (For more, check out our articles on knowing God.)

(For more on the Golden Calf, check out our related videos at the bottom of the page. Also, for a good reminder to not create a golden calf Jesus, check out our mug!)

The Second Priority

The second priority Jesus teaches is a request that God's name be "hallowed." To be hallowed is to make something holy—to sanctify it or set it apart for special use.

In Scripture, the Temple is called holy. The prophets were called holy. Moses stood on holy ground before the burning bush (Exodus 3:5). Jesus is called holy (Acts 4:30), along with believers (Hebrews 3:1). Even the children of believers (1 Corinthians 7:14) are said to be holy.

However, all of these things derive their holiness from one source: The God of all holiness. So Christians pray that God's name be made holy—not that it isn't, but that it be made more holy in their hearts and minds, and in the hearts and minds of all people.

The Book of Ecclesiastes ends with this summation:

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandment, because this applies to every person." (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

At the heart of "fearing God" is a profound understanding and humble acknowledgment of the reality that He is holy.

The Third Priority

As humbling as the second priority is, the third takes it further. Christians are to pray that "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Why is this so humbling? Because most of the time, we approach God in prayer to ask that our will be done. We want something, and we want it as soon as possible.

When it comes to His kingdom coming, how often is your prayer time focused on the greater manifestation of Christ's rule extending to more people? Are you praying that your neighbor might come to faith? That your coworker might finally believe after years of hearing the gospel? That the Lord's will might break through the barriers still in your own heart?

Even before we ask for the things we need, we are to ask God that His kingdom is advanced and that all people bow to His will.

(Check out our article series on The Kingdom of God!)

The Fourth Priority

"Give us this day our daily bread." How often do we go through entire days assuming we have the strength, power, and ability to get ourselves through it? We don't go to God once; we don't think we need anything.

In our culture, few things are as highly esteemed as independence. But Christians are to be the opposite—we are to be a dependent people who humbly rely upon God for all things.

The sad thing is, every person is dependent upon God. Most just don't recognize it. Our prayer life should be marked by an active dependence upon God. This is what the Bible means when it speaks of "waiting" upon God:

Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:30–31)

When we ask for daily bread, we acknowledge that He is our one and only provider.

The Fifth Priority

I believe the fifth priority is the hardest for most of us: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Every Christian loves God's forgiveness. Many struggle with extending the same forgiveness to others.

Peter thought he was being generous when he proposed forgiving his brother seven times:

"Then Peter came and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'" (Matthew 18:21–22)

Notice that this priority doesn't teach us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, and then we'll forgive our debtors." It's asking for forgiveness as we've forgiven. Jesus' model prayer assumes we've already extended forgiveness.

Have you ever paused to consider what you're asking God to do? Do you really want Him to release you from your debts as you've released those who've wronged you?

The Sixth Priority

The sixth priority is to ask God to lead and deliver you—to lead us away from temptations toward sinfulness and away from anything evil in His sight.

The Bible often describes people as sheep. Sheep have no natural defenses and require a shepherd to guard and guide them. Isaiah observes:

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6a)

Much of the beauty behind Psalm 23 lies in understanding the real need that a sheep has for its shepherd. David understood because he knew sheep and knew his need for God to guard and guide his soul.

The sixth priority is that you faithfully, humbly, and gratefully ask God to guard and guide you into the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake.

The Seventh Priority

The final prayer priority Jesus taught wasn't a request, but a praise: "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."

We aren't asking for this. It's an ever-present reality. The kingdom belongs to God. All glory and power are His. This last priority is about acknowledging and glorifying God.

We call this a "doxology"—a word of praise. Here are two examples from Scripture:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!... For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33–36)

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20–21)

Are we people who "break out" in worship when we pray? Declaring the glories of God is a priority that Jesus expected from His disciples.

Putting It Into Practice

As you begin incorporating these seven priorities into your prayer life, consider this simple approach:

Start each prayer time by working through the priorities in order. You don't need to spend equal time on each—let the Spirit guide you. Some days you might linger on hallowing God's name; other days you might focus more on forgiveness.

A practical template:

Praise (Priorities 1-2): "Father in heaven, You are holy..."
Purpose (Priority 3): "May Your kingdom advance today in..."
Provision (Priority 4): "I need Your help with..."
Pardon (Priority 5): "Forgive me for... as I forgive..."
Protection (Priority 6): "Guard me from..."
Praise (Priority 7): "All glory belongs to You..."

Remember, this isn't about perfect words but about aligning your heart with God's priorities. Start with just five minutes using this framework, and watch how it transforms your prayer life from a wish list into genuine communion with God.

Summary

The Lord's Prayer is the Christ-given model for God-honoring prayer. It establishes seven priorities that should be present every time we pray.

Are you praying the way Jesus taught? The disciples spent years following Jesus, observing every aspect of His ministry. Of all the things He did, His prayer life was the one thing we have record of them asking about.

If "Lord, teach us to pray" was their request, shouldn't it be ours also?

For a more thorough discussion on this topic, we highly recommend our book, Faithful in Prayer – Seven Biblical Priorities in Prayer. We trust it will be an encouragement as you seek to pray as Jesus taught.