Holy Bible: Faith VerseThe Lord's Prayer: the full text and what each line means
By Sophie · October 20, 2026 · 6 min read
The Lord's Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. It appears twice in the Gospels, in Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4, and it is the one prayer shared by almost every Christian church.
Below is the full text in the King James Version, followed by what each line means and a few simple ways to pray it every day.
The Lord's Prayer (KJV)
Matthew 6:9-13, King James Version:
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Many churches pray it in the traditional wording used in worship, which says trespasses where the King James Version says debts. Both words speak of sin, and the meaning of the prayer is the same.
Why Jesus taught this prayer
In Matthew, the prayer comes in the Sermon on the Mount. Just before it, Jesus warns against praying to be seen, and tells His listeners to pray in private:
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
He also warns against piling up words, because God already knows what we need:
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
Luke gives a different setting. The disciples had watched Jesus pray, and one of them asked Him to teach them:
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
What each line means
“Our Father which art in heaven.” You speak to God as a child speaks to a father. The word is our, so even alone you pray as one member of a family. Heaven reminds you that He is above every circumstance you bring to Him.
“Hallowed be thy name.” To hallow is to treat as holy. The first request is about God before it is about us: that His name be honored in the world and in the way we live.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” You ask for God's rule to be real here and now, and you place your own plans under His will. Jesus prayed the same way in Gethsemane, the night before the cross.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” You ask for what you need today, one day at a time. It recalls the manna God gave Israel in the wilderness, enough for each day and no more (Exodus 16).
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Sin is pictured as a debt we cannot pay back. This is the one line Jesus explains right after the prayer:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” You admit that you need God's help to stay faithful, and you ask Him to keep you from evil. James 1:13 says that God tempts no one, so the request is for protection and strength in times of testing.
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” The prayer ends in praise. This closing line is in the King James Version of Matthew, but it is missing from the oldest Greek manuscripts, which is why many modern translations place it in a footnote. In the Catholic Mass it is said after a short prayer by the priest.
The Lord's Prayer in Luke
Luke records a shorter setting and a few different words:
“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
Luke says sins where Matthew says debts, asks for bread day by day, and has no closing words of praise. The heart of the prayer is the same in both Gospels.
How to pray the Lord's Prayer every day
- Pray it slowly. Pause after each line and let it become your own words before moving on.
- Use it as a pattern. Praise God, ask for His will, bring your needs, ask forgiveness and forgive others, then ask for protection. Each line can open a longer prayer of your own.
- Pray it morning and evening. In the morning it gives the day to God. At night it is a moment to forgive and be forgiven before you sleep.
- Pray it with others. It was given in the plural, our and us, and it is easy to pray together as a family.
For more ways to start the day with God, read 5 short morning prayers, or explore Bible verses about forgiveness.
If you would like a verse waiting for you every day, Holy Bible puts one on your Home Screen and can read prayers aloud.
Questions
Where is the Lord's Prayer in the Bible?
In Matthew 6:9-13, as part of the Sermon on the Mount, and in Luke 11:2-4, where the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray.
Is it debts or trespasses?
The King James Version of Matthew says debts. Many churches say trespasses, the wording used in worship for centuries, and Jesus uses that word in the verses right after the prayer (Matthew 6:14-15). Both mean sin.
Why do some versions leave out the ending?
The closing praise, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever”, is in the King James Version but not in the oldest Greek manuscripts of Matthew, and it is not in Luke. Many modern Bibles put it in a footnote.
Is the Lord's Prayer the same as the Our Father?
Yes. Our Father is the name taken from its first words, and it is the name most Catholics use.
