The Lord’s Prayer

Read: Matthew 6:9-13
Listen: Matthew 6

This year in Beyond the Weekend, journey through different biblical models of prayer—one each month. April’s focus is Petition: bringing our needs before God.

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:9-12

Jesus teaches his disciples on a Galilean hillside, and a crowd presses in. He has just warned them against praying like the religious leaders who pray long, showy prayers on street corners to win applause or like the pagans who believe more words will move God to listen (Matthew 6:5-8). Jesus cuts through all of it and gives his disciples a pattern. Begin with who God is—Father, holy, sovereign. Then move to petition. Ask for today’s bread, forgiveness, and protection from temptation. Jesus shows his disciples that their Father welcomes honest, specific requests from his children.

Just as Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he teaches us how to bring our real, everyday needs to God. The Lord’s Prayer is not just a script to recite, but it is a model for petition. We begin by fixing our eyes on who God is before we bring what we need. Then we come honestly asking for provision for today, forgiveness of sin, and protection in temptation. We don’t need polished words or an impressive list. We need a willing heart, trusting we have a Father who is ready to listen. When we follow Jesus’s pattern, petition becomes less about getting what we want and more about trusting the One who already knows what we need.

TODAY: Pray through the Lord’s Prayer slowly as your own petition. Pause at each request—daily bread, forgiveness, and protection—and make it specific to what you are facing right now.