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When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.
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God's answer first
This is one of the few questions the disciples asked out loud, and Jesus answered it directly. Read his answer before any advice about prayer.
The passage that answers this
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Jesus removes the pressure first, no audience and no word count, then gives a pattern short enough to memorise and wide enough to cover a life.
Read these with it
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Nothing and everything are the two limits. Thanksgiving is included, and the promise is not that we get what we asked but that peace guards us.
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Scripture assumes we will often not know how to pray. That is not treated as failure, and help is given rather than instruction only.
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Why we ask this
Prayer sounds simple until you try it. Many people stop because they run out of words in two minutes and assume they are doing it wrong.
Others have heard prayers so polished that they conclude prayer is a skill for the fluent. Jesus warns about exactly that in Matthew 6:5-8.
There is also disappointment behind the question. If earlier prayers went unanswered, asking how to pray is sometimes really asking whether it is worth praying at all.
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Historical context
- Written by
- Matthew, recording Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount; Luke records the same pattern in a different setting
- Written to
- Disciples and crowds in Galilee, in a culture where public prayer at fixed hours was ordinary
- Written because
- Jesus is contrasting his followers with two visible models of prayer around them, religious display and pagan repetition
Prayer in first century Judaism had set times and often took place in public, so praying where you would be seen was not itself unusual. What Jesus criticises in Matthew 6:5 is the motive, praying so as to be seen by men.
The two negatives are aimed in different directions. Verse 5 addresses religious performance, verses 7 to 8 address the pagan assumption that a god must be worn down with volume. Both are cured by the same word, Father.
The differences between Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 are worth noticing. Luke is shorter, and the closing words about and the power appear in some manuscripts of Matthew and not others, which most modern Bibles footnote. That the pattern is repeated with variation shows it was never meant as an incantation.
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Verse by verse
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A shut door removes the audience. Jesus does not forbid praying with others, since he taught his disciples to say our Father, but he puts the centre of prayer where no one can see it.
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This could have been a reason not to pray. Jesus makes it the reason to pray simply. We are not informing God; we are coming to him.
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Three things in one line: Father, our, and in heaven. Nearness and greatness together. The first request is not for us at all but for God's name to be treated as holy.
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Two requests about God's rule come before anything about our needs. This ordering is the most commonly skipped part of the prayer, and it quietly rearranges the person praying.
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Bread, today. The request is modest and immediate, and it assumes dependence rather than storage. Compare Proverbs 30:8, feed me with the food that is needful for me.
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Forgiveness sits in the middle of daily prayer, not at conversion only. The clause about forgiving others is not a bargain but a link Jesus makes explicit two verses later, Matthew 6:14-15.
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The prayer ends looking outward at a real enemy and upward at a real kingdom. Notice that it never asks for success, comfort or explanation.
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Boldness and according to his will are held together. This is not a promise that any request is granted; it is confidence that prayer aligned with God's will is heard.
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What Scripture says
Pray to God as Father
This one word settles tone. Romans 8:15 says we received a Spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba, Father. Christian prayer is family speech, not petitioning a stranger.
Prayer does not need to be long or eloquent
Vain repetition and much speaking are ruled out. Ecclesiastes 5:2 says let your words be few, and the tax collector's prayer in Luke 18:13 is one sentence.
Bring everything, with thanksgiving
In nothing be anxious, in everything let your requests be known. Thanksgiving is included in the instruction, which steadies a prayer that would otherwise be only a list of fears.
Honesty is welcome, including complaint
How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? The psalm ends in trust, but it does not begin there. Roughly a third of the Psalms are laments, which tells us what kind of speech God has preserved for our use.
Persistence is taught, not discouraged
Jesus told a parable so that people would always pray and not give up. Persistence differs from the much speaking of Matthew 6:7: one keeps coming to a Father, the other tries to wear down a god.
Unconfessed sin and unforgiveness matter
God's hand is not too short to save nor his ear dull; sin has separated. 1 Peter 3:7 says a husband's treatment of his wife can hinder prayers. Scripture treats prayer as part of a whole life, not a separate compartment.
The Spirit and the Son both help
The Spirit intercedes for us, and Hebrews 7:25 says Christ lives to make intercession. A weak prayer is not alone in the room.
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The words behind the question
battologeō
The word suggests piling up words for their own sake. It does not condemn repeating a request, since Jesus himself prayed the same words three times in Gethsemane, Matthew 26:44. What is condemned is treating volume as leverage.
epiousios
This word is rare enough that its precise sense is debated; suggested meanings include for today, for the coming day, and necessary for existence. The main sense in every case is enough bread for the day at hand, and translations reflect that.
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Cross references
The pattern Jesus gave
The fuller version, with the words about forgiving others.
The pattern plus teaching on persistence and on the Father's good gifts.
Confidence in asking
Come boldly to the of to receive mercy and help.
Confidence when asking according to his will.
Ask for wisdom in faith, without wavering.
Abiding in Christ and his words remaining in us shapes what we ask.
Honest prayer in Scripture
A lament that begins with how long and ends in song.
Pour out your heart before him.
Wordless grief accepted as prayer.
A prophet complaining to God about God's apparent inaction.
When prayer seems blocked
Sin separating rather than God being unable.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Asking wrongly, to spend on our own pleasures.
How a man treats his wife can hinder his prayers.
Prayers to learn from
Confession, Scripture and a specific request together.
Praying Scripture back to God on behalf of a people.
Paul praying for inner strength rather than easier circumstances.
What Paul actually asks for other Christians.
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Common misunderstandings
You have to pray the right words for God to listen
Matthew 6:7-8 rules this out directly. The tax collector's sentence was accepted and the Pharisee's fluent prayer was not, Luke 18:14. Words matter as honesty, not as formula.
If you have enough faith, you will get whatever you ask
1 John 5:14 adds according to his will. Paul asked three times for his thorn to be removed and was told no with a reason, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, and Jesus prayed if it is possible in Gethsemane and drank the cup, Matthew 26:39-42. Any teaching that makes unanswered prayer proof of weak faith contradicts these.
The Lord's Prayer must be recited word for word
Jesus said pray like this, and Luke records the pattern in different words. Praying it as written is good and ancient; treating the wording as required is not what the text asks.
Long prayers are more spiritual
Jesus criticised those who for a pretence make long prayers, Mark 12:40. Long prayer can be wonderful, and Jesus prayed all night in Luke 6:12, but length is never given as a measure.
Prayer is only about getting things
The first three requests Jesus gives are about God's name, kingdom and will. Philippians 4:6-7 promises peace rather than possessions, and Luke 11:13 has the Father giving the to those who ask.
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Things most readers miss
God knowing already is given as encouragement
Matthew 6:8 could be read as making prayer pointless. Jesus uses it as the reason not to babble. We come to a Father who already knows, which is why we can be brief and plain.
The prayer is plural throughout
Our Father, our bread, our debts, deliver us. Even prayed alone behind a shut door, it keeps other people in view.
There is no request for comfort or success
Bread, forgiveness, deliverance from evil. Setting your own prayer list beside that list is a quiet and useful exercise.
Peace is promised before circumstances change
Philippians 4:7 says peace will guard your hearts and thoughts. Hannah's face changed before her situation did, 1 Samuel 1:18.
Jesus prayed, often and early
Mark 1:35 has him going out before daylight to a lonely place; Luke 5:16 says he withdrew often. If prayer was necessary for him, our need of it is not a sign of immaturity.
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Someone in Scripture faced this too
The Bible is full of people praying badly, praying briefly, and praying honestly. Watch them before adopting a method.
The disciple who asked
What he or she went through
One of them watched Jesus praying and said, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.
How God responded
Jesus gave them the pattern again, in slightly different words from Matthew's account, which shows it was a model rather than a formula to repeat exactly.
What we learn
Not knowing how to pray is a good enough reason to ask. The men closest to Jesus asked to be taught.
How it points to Christ
They asked because they had watched him pray, Luke 11:1. Christian prayer begins by watching Christ rather than by finding a technique.
The tax collector at the temple
What he or she went through
He stood far off, would not lift his eyes, and beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
How God responded
Jesus said this man went home rather than the Pharisee who had listed his achievements.
What we learn
Seven words in the right posture were accepted, and a polished prayer was not. Jesus states the principle in verse 14: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
Hannah, who could not speak
What he or she went through
In bitter grief over childlessness she prayed with her lips moving but no voice, and thought she was drunk.
How God responded
She said she had poured out her soul before the Lord, and she went away with her face changed before anything else had changed.
What we learn
Prayer may be wordless and undignified and still be heard. 1 Samuel 1:18 shows peace arriving before the answer did.
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Christ and this question
We pray through him and after him
The reason a Christian can call God Father is Christ. John 1:12 says those who received him were given the right to become children of God, and Galatians 4:6 says God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba, Father.
Hebrews 4:14-16 gives the ground of boldness: we have a who was as we are, so we come to receive mercy and help. Hebrews 7:25 adds that he always lives to intercede for us, which means our prayer is never the only prayer being offered for us.
He also prayed as a man in real distress. In Gethsemane he asked for the cup to pass and added not what I , but what you desire, Matthew 26:39. That is the shape of Christian prayer at its hardest: honest about what we want, submitted to what God wills.
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What to do with this
Pray the pattern slowly for a week
Take Matthew 6:9-13 one line a day, stopping to fill each line with your own words. It will teach you the order Jesus gave rather than the order anxiety gives.
Fix a time and a place
Jesus assumed a shut door, Matthew 6:6, and himself went out early to a lonely place, Mark 1:35. Ten minutes at a fixed time outlasts good intentions.
Pray Scripture back to God
Use a psalm as your words when you have none. Daniel 9 and Nehemiah 1 both show prayers built out of Scripture. Audela's Bible reader lets you save a verse straight into a prayer list.
Be specific, and write it down
Vague prayer is hard to continue and impossible to see answered. Name people and needs, and keep a short list you can return to.
Deal with what Scripture says hinders prayer
Confess what needs confessing, 1 John 1:9, and forgive where Matthew 6:14-15 presses. This is often the difference between prayer that feels shut and prayer that breathes.
Pray with someone
Matthew 18:19-20 and Acts 12:5 both show prayer in company. Praying aloud with one other Christian will teach you more than reading about prayer.
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Study the question further
What if I do not know what to say?
Scripture treats this as an ordinary condition and gives help for it rather than shame. Romans 8:26 says we do not know how to pray as we ought and that the Spirit intercedes for us.
Romans 8:26-27
The Spirit helps our weakness when words fail.
1 Samuel 1:13
Hannah prayed without a voice and was heard.
Luke 11:1
A disciple simply asked to be taught.
How to apply this today
- Have I let not knowing what to say stop me from starting?
Father, I do not know what to say. Your Spirit helps my weakness, so I come anyway.
Does God answer every prayer?
Scripture says he hears his people, and it also shows answers that are yes, no and not yet. 1 John 5:14 ties confidence to asking according to his will, and Paul was told no for a stated reason.
What Scripture says plainly
God hears, Psalm 34:15, and delights to give good gifts, Matthew 7:11.
What Scripture also shows
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 records a request refused, with given instead. Matthew 26:39-42 shows Christ's own request not granted.
What Scripture does not tell us
Why a particular prayer is answered the way it is. Deuteronomy 29:29 leaves the secret things with God.
How to apply this today
- Can I keep praying without demanding an explanation?
Lord, I ask plainly and I trust you with the answer. Give me if the answer is no.
How long should I pray?
Scripture never sets a length. It shows one sentence accepted and a whole night spent in prayer, and it warns against length used as display.
Luke 18:13
A prayer of one line, and the man went home justified.
Luke 6:12
Jesus continued all night in prayer to God before choosing the twelve.
Mark 12:40
Long prayers made for a pretence are condemned.
How to apply this today
- Am I measuring prayer by minutes rather than by honesty?
Father, teach me to pray truly, whether I have five minutes or an hour.
Should I pray out loud or silently?
Both appear in Scripture. Hannah's lips moved with no sound, Nehemiah prayed briefly while standing in front of a , and the psalms were sung aloud together.
1 Samuel 1:13
Silent prayer, heard by God though misjudged by a man.
Nehemiah 2:4-5
A prayer offered mid conversation with a king.
Acts 4:24-31
A church praying aloud together with one voice.
How to apply this today
- What has stopped me praying in the ordinary moments of a day?
Lord, let me speak with you in the middle of my work as well as behind a shut door.
Can I be angry or complain in prayer?
Scripture preserves many prayers of complaint and confusion, which shows what God is willing to hear. Complaint made to God is different from complaint made about him to everyone else.
Psalm 13:1-2
How long will you forget me, spoken directly to God.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
A prophet asking why God does not act, and receiving an answer.
Psalm 62:8
Pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
How to apply this today
- Have I been polite with God instead of honest?
God, I would rather bring you my anger than pretend. Hear me, and lead me back to trust.
Do I need special words or a set posture?
No. Scripture records standing, kneeling, lying face down, sitting and walking, and it makes the heart rather than the position the point.
Matthew 6:7-8
Many words are not what makes prayer heard.
Daniel 6:10
Daniel knelt at his open window three times a day.
Luke 22:41
Jesus knelt in Gethsemane; Matthew 26:39 says he fell on his face.
How to apply this today
- Is anything about how I pray more about appearance than about God?
Father, strip my prayer of performance. I want to speak with you, not perform for anyone.
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Reflection
- If I compare my usual prayers with Matthew 6:9-13, what is missing?
- What have I never told God plainly, and why?
- Is there anyone I need to forgive before I pray again, as Matthew 6:14-15 presses?
- When and where will I pray tomorrow?
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Prayer
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. I begin where Jesus told me to begin, with you rather than with my list.
Let your kingdom come and your will be done, here and in me, even where I would have chosen differently.
Give me today what I need. Forgive me, and make me willing to forgive the person I would rather not name.
Keep me from and deliver me from evil. Teach me to pray, and help me when I do not know what to say. Amen.
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Further reading
Matthew 6:5-18
Prayer, fasting and the Father who sees in secret.
Luke 11:1-13
The pattern, persistence, and the Father's good gifts.
Luke 18:1-14
Two parables about how to pray and how not to.
Psalm 13
Honest lament that ends in song.
Philippians 4:4-9
Anxiety, prayer, thanksgiving and peace.
Nehemiah 1
A model prayer of confession and specific request.
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Explore the passage
These are questions the text can actually answer. Take one, go back to the passage with it, and read until Scripture answers rather than until you have an explanation you like. Each question names where this study, or another passage, does the answering.
What this reveals about God
Start here, because every passage of Scripture is first about God before it is about us. Read for what He does, what He says, and what He is called.
What does these passages teach about God?
Underline every verb God is the subject of. What He does tells you who He is.
What does these passages reveal about God's character?
Look for the words the text itself uses of Him: holy, merciful, faithful, jealous, patient. Take the text's own vocabulary rather than your own.
What this reveals about us
Scripture is honest about people. Read for what it says of human need, human failure, and the kind of response it calls for.
What does these passages teach about humanity?
Watch what the people in the text want, fear, and trust. Scripture rarely flatters them.
What does these passages reveal about faith?
Faith in Scripture is always faith in someone, about something specific. Ask what exactly is being believed here, and on what word.
Where this arrives in Christ
Jesus said the Scriptures testify of Him. Follow the line the Bible itself draws rather than inventing one.
What does these passages reveal about Jesus Christ?
Look for what the New Testament does with this text. A connection Scripture makes is a connection you can stand on.
What does these passages reveal about salvation?
Ask who does the saving, who is saved, from what, and by what means. Let the text answer each part.
The world behind the words
The first readers knew things we have to learn. Recovering what they knew is study, not speculation.
How would the original audience have understood these passages?
Ask what they had already been told, what they were living through, and what this would have cost them to believe.
What historical or cultural background helps explain these passages?
Look at the work, the worship, the law and the customs the text assumes you already understand.
What do these words carry in the original: battologeō, epiousios?
Take the word to its root, its first appearance, and its range of use. Then let the context choose the meaning.
How this connects to the rest of Scripture
Scripture is its own best commentary. The clearest answers usually come from another passage rather than from a scholar.
Which Old and New Testament passages help explain these passages?
Prefer passages that quote or clearly echo this text. Those links are the Bible's own, not ours.
What biblical themes are developed in these passages, and where do they begin?
Trace one theme backwards to where Scripture first raises it, then forwards to where it lands.
What this asks of you
Application is the last step, never the first, and it must come out of the passage rather than out of general advice.
What does these passages teach believers to do today?
Say it as one sentence you could obey this week, and be able to point at the verse it came from.
Where faithful readers differ
Some questions here are genuinely open. Where Bible believing Christians read this differently, the readings are set out with the passages behind each one, and what Scripture states plainly is kept separate from what is interpretation.
Which parts of these passages does Scripture state plainly, and which parts are interpretation?
Write two lists. Anything you cannot put in the first list, hold loosely and say so when you teach it.
Questions Audela will not answer
Where Scripture does not answer a question, Audela says so plainly rather than filling the silence. An honest “the Bible does not tell us” is more faithful than a confident guess, and it keeps the reader’s trust in God’s Word rather than in our reasoning.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.
- Ask instead: What does the passage say God did, and what does that reveal about His character?
- Ask instead: What has God told us about His purpose here, in this text or elsewhere in Scripture?
- Ask instead: What does Scripture say about how God acts, and where does it say it?
- Ask instead: What happened, and what does the rest of Scripture make of it?
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