Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

I should learn the Lord’s Prayer because Jesus taught it to his disciples as both a practice and a pattern for prayer to God the Father.

I should pray the Lord’s Prayer regularly because it teaches me to pray as Jesus commanded and to desire what his Father wills.

The Lord’s Prayer models the primary types of prayer: praise of God, intercession for his rule, petition for his provision and protection, and confession of sins. I should pray regularly in all these ways.

The traditional form of the Lord’s Prayer begins by addressing God the Father, makes seven petitions, adds a doxology, and concludes with “Amen.”

We call God “Father” because Jesus teaches his disciples that we are God’s children and should call God “our Father.”

All who come to God through faith and Baptism in Christ are adopted as children of God the Father.

Jesus teaches us always to understand ourselves not only as individuals but as members of God’s family of believers, and to pray accordingly.

Like all loving and sincere earthly fathers, God loves us in our weakness, provides for our needs, teaches us in our ignorance, and corrects us when we go astray.

Unlike our natural fathers, our heavenly Father loves us perfectly, is almighty in his care, makes no errors in judgment, and disciplines us only for our good.

Heaven is the realm of God’s presence, power, and glory, which exists invisibly alongside this visible realm, and from which God hears the prayers of his children.

Because God is in all places and knows all things, he hears and answers my prayers, directs my paths, and strengthens me in times of trouble.