‘You Must Pray This Way’

DO YOU know the words of the Lord’s Prayer? It is a model prayer taught by Jesus Christ. During his renowned Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “You must pray, then, this way.” (Matthew 6:9) Since it was introduced by Jesus, it is often called the Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father prayer.​—Latin, Paternoster.

Millions around the world have committed the Lord’s Prayer to memory and repeat it often, perhaps daily. In recent years, many have recited this prayer in schools and at public events. Why is the Lord’s Prayer so highly esteemed?

The third-century theologian Cyprian wrote: “What can be a more spiritual prayer than that which was given to us by Christ . . . ? What praying to the Father can be more truthful than that which was delivered to us by the Son who is the Truth?”​—John 14:6.

In its catechism, the Roman Catholic Church deems the Our Father to be “the fundamental Christian prayer.” The World Book Encyclopedia acknowledges this prayer’s important place in all religions of Christendom, calling it one of the “basic statements of Christian faith.”

It must be acknowledged, however, that many who recite the Lord’s Prayer do not fully understand it. “If you have any kind of Christian background you probably are able to rattle off the Lord’s Prayer without having to pause for breath,” says Canada’s Ottawa Citizen newspaper, “but you might have difficulty saying it slowly and with understanding.”

Is it really important to understand our prayers to God? Why did Jesus give us the Lord’s Prayer? What does it mean for you? Let us now address these questions.