Christianity
Matthew 6The Lord's Prayer
Summary
Matthew 6 continues the Sermon on the Mount with teaching on giving alms, praying and fasting in secret rather than to be seen by others. Jesus gives the prayer Christians call the Lord's Prayer or Our Father. He urges storing treasure in heaven, warns that no one can serve God and mammon, and tells his hearers not to be anxious about food or clothing, pointing to birds and lilies and urging them to seek God's kingdom first.
Key verse
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
Matthew 6:9
Themes
- Prayer
- Sincere Devotion
- Treasure in Heaven
- Freedom from Anxiety
Text
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Islam
Surah Al-Fatiha (1): The OpeningMuslims recite Al-Fatiha in every unit of daily prayer, much as many Christians pray the Our Father daily. Both open by praising God and move to asking for guidance, though Al-Fatiha addresses God as Lord of the worlds rather than as Father.
Islam
Surah Al-Ma'un (107): Prayer for ShowSurah 107 condemns worshippers who pray to be seen yet refuse small kindnesses, a criticism close to Jesus's warning against public piety performed for applause.
Christianity
Luke 11: Lord, Teach Us to PrayLuke gives a shorter form of the prayer in answer to a disciple's request. The closing doxology familiar to many Protestants is absent from both Gospels in the oldest manuscripts.
Questions about Matthew 6
Where is the Lord's Prayer in the Bible?
The fuller form is Matthew 6:9 to 13, and a shorter form is in Luke 11:2 to 4. The KJV of Matthew 6:13 includes the ending For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, which is missing from the earliest manuscripts and omitted by many modern translations.
What does mammon mean?
Mammon is an Aramaic word for wealth or possessions. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus personifies it as a rival master to God.
Does Jesus forbid praying in public?
Matthew 6:5 to 6 criticizes praying in order to be seen and urges private prayer, but most interpreters read it as a warning about motive rather than a ban on communal worship.