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"The Lord's Prayer"

Line-by-line commentary on The Lord's Prayer

This section features the writings of three famous biblical theologians (Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes).

The prayer opens with addressing God as "Father who art in Heaven". There then follows seven petitions. The first requests are contected with the worship of God ("Hallowed be thy name") and His ways. The next four concern the needs of man - his physical ("Give us today our daily bread"), mental (with temptation) spiritual (against evil) and relational needs (forgiveness). The prayer then concludes with a doxology.

General Commentary on The Lord's Prayer

In this section of the website, we explore the Lord's prayer message and application through a number of well known biblical scholars and writers. The study by John Wesley considers that this prayer may be broken down into three sections - it contains a preface ("Our Father"), petitions ("Give us this day" etc), and a conclusion (the doxology).

The commentary on the prayer by John Calvin has been broken down into five sections (one for each verse in Matthew's Gospel). It offers some revealing insights into the Lord's prayer, and is worth reading for an in-depth analysis of this scripture.

More about the commentaries in this section

In the notes from Charles Spurgeon's sermon on the Lord's prayer, he considers that this text is a model for prayer, rather than something to be recited word for word. For example, when considering our sins, time needs to be taken to cite our wrongdoings and name them. Spurgeon goes on to observe that the prayer is "Our Father" - there is a double relationship in the text, firstly with God as Father, and secondly with our brothers and sisters (the prayer is not "My Father"). He asks us to think about the wider meaning of this - that the poor, the outcast etc are all our brothers.

The basis for the second sermon by Charles Spurgeon is Matthew 6:10 - "Your will be done on earth as in heaven". Here he considers the will of God, that it was originally perfectly done (in Eden), and in the future will be. In the meantime, as we pray this prayer, we are to commit ourselves to doing the will of God on earth.

In this section you will also find an interpretation of the Lord's prayer by Alexander MacLaren. If you need some ideas for studying this prayer in your bible group, then there is also an excellent contribution by Phil Harper. Here you'll find some thoughts on what motivates us when we pray, and how we might seek to do the will of God as a community together.