On one occasion, recorded in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 9 onwards, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray to God in an acceptable manner. This is commonly named the "Lord’s prayer" or the "Our Father". He said, "You must pray, then, this way: ′Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth. Give us today our bread for this day; and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the wicked one.′" Let us examine this prayer, section by section.

Our Father in the heavens: Notice that Jesus said "our" father! On many occasions Jesus referred to Jehovah as being "my" father as well as being father to all humans. In fact, he once said (Matt. 21:9), "Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One." Then note what he said in verse 10, "Neither be called leaders, for your Leader is one, the Christ." This highlights a clear contrast between God as the Heavenly Father, and himself as the first among those who serve the Heavenly Father: Two separate roles, two separate persons!

Let your name be sanctified: What is God’s name? How can anybody make the name holy if they do not know what that name is? Is that even possible? God’s name is frequently written as "Jehovah" (Psalm 83:18), "May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth." (See the article "Who is Jehovah")

Let your Kingdom come: The bible refers many times to God’s Kingdom, but what is it? Daniel 2:44 tells us plainly, "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingoms, and it alone will stand forever." It is a government that will replace all other governments and it will be stable for ever.

Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth: When Jehovah’s kingdom replaces all other kingdoms and governments and takes control of the earth, then this will happen and the earth will be returned to the paradise that Jehovah originally intended for mankind.

Give us today our bread for this day: People need food to live and this is a request that Jehovah will continue to provide it. However, Jesus also said, "It is written: ′Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Jehovah’s mouth.′" (Matthew, 4:4.) We not only require physical food, we require spiritual food as well. We need to be sustained by Jehovah′s words and promises that he has caused to be recorded in the bible.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors: People are not perfect and make mistakes. If we do something that might offend Jehovah, he has promised that he will overlook it because of our imperfections. In the same way, however, we should also forgive other people who make mistakes that offend us in some way. In fact, Jesus said, immediately following this prayer, (verses 14 & 15) "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; whereas if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the wicked one: Temptations are common, many of which are not pleasing to Jehovah. Sometimes it is difficult to resist, so we need the help of Jehovah’s Holy Spirit to help us resist the temptations that the ruler of this world, Satan the wicked one, constantly dangles in front of us. The Holy Spirit can lead us, not towards temptation, but away from it, in direct contrast to Satan who wants us to sin.

The final point is that Jesus gave this prayer as a model to show the format we should use when we pray, rather than as a specific prayer that we should repeat over and over again. He emphasised this in verse 7 immediately before giving us this example prayer. He stressed that we should not use repetitious prayers when he said, "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again as the people of the nations do." Instead, we should pray from the heart and express our deepest feelings about these matters.

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