Matthew 6:9 / Level 1
The Verse
What does it actually say?
Pray like this: “‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Verified Scripture
Matthew 6:9 / Level 1
The Verse
What does it actually say?
Pray like this: “‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Verified Scripture
Matthew 6:9 / Level 2
Complete the Thought
What surrounding unit controls the meaning?
Matthew 6:9 opens the Lord's Prayer (6:9-13). Jesus introduces it with "Pray like this" after warning against praying to be seen (6:5-6) and against heaping up words, because "your Father knows what things you need before you ask him" (6:8).
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 3
The Movement
How does the author arrive here?
The prayer moves from God to the people praying. The first requests are for God's name, Kingdom, and will (6:9-10), and then come daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance (6:11-13). Luke 11:2-4 gives a shorter version in a different setting. The closing line in the English translation, "For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever," does not appear in the Greek text.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 4
The Kind of Writing
How should this genre be read?
This is a model prayer given as instruction. "Pray like this" presents a pattern inside teaching on giving, prayer, and fasting done in secret rather than to be seen (Matthew 6:1-18).
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 5
Inside the Book
How does this fit the book?
The prayer sits inside Matthew 6:1-18, which takes giving, prayer, and fasting in turn and sets each against doing it to be seen by people. That section belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, the first of five teaching blocks in Matthew.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 6
The Meaning
What does this mean in context?
Jesus teaches his disciples to begin prayer by addressing God as their Father in heaven and asking that his name be kept holy, before any request for their own needs.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 7
The Ancient Setting
What background prevents a misread?
Jesus contrasts the prayer he teaches with two kinds of prayer his hearers knew: "the hypocrites," who pray in synagogues and on street corners to be seen, and "the Gentiles," who think many words will get them heard. The Gospel is traditionally credited to Matthew, and this study does not assign it a date.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 8
Original Word Scroll
What is behind the original word?
The Greek word here is Πάτερ, a form of πατήρ (pater). In this verse it means "Father."
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 9
The Grammar in Plain English
How does it function in this sentence?
Πάτερ is a singular noun in the vocative case, the form used to speak to someone directly.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 10
Why It Matters
Why does this detail matter?
Πάτερ is the form used to address someone directly. The prayer begins by speaking to God as Father, the same name Jesus has used for God throughout Matthew 6:1-8 ("your Father who sees in secret").
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 11
Scripture Connection
Where does Scripture echo this?
Luke 11:2 opens Luke's shorter form of the same prayer, given after a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 12
Theology
What does this reveal?
The prayer begins by addressing God as "our Father in heaven" and asks first that his name be kept holy. The Father who can be spoken to directly is also the holy God whose name comes before every request for daily need. The opening sets the order of the whole prayer: God's name, Kingdom, and will before bread, forgiveness, and deliverance.
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 13
The Guardrail
What should I not overclaim?
The form of address alone does not define the relationship; the surrounding teaching about the Father who sees and knows (6:4-8) supplies that.
Demonstration content
Matthew 6:9 / Level 14
Responsible Response
How should I respond now that I understand?
Before you bring your own requests, how could you begin prayer with God's name, Kingdom, and will?
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Matthew 6:9 / Level 15
Sources and Verification
What is verified, and what remains bounded?
Matthew 6:9 is quoted from the World English Bible, Protestant Edition, as published by eBible.org.
Demonstration content
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