The Revelation at the Heart of the Lord's Prayer

Why It's More About Who We Pray to than What We Pray

Author

Ryan Patrick Murphy
February 07, 2026

In the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’s manifesto on the kingdom of God and how to live in it, Jesus teaches on prayer.

He says:

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:5-6, NRSVUE

Jesus doesn’t say “if you pray,” he says “when you pray.” Prayer is not an option in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells us where we should be praying (alone in our rooms), who we should be praying to (the Father), and why we should be praying (to get a reward). In the next verse, he tells us that the Father “knows what we need before we ask” (Matthew 6:8) and frames the entire Lord’s prayer around a simple address: “Our Father.”

Jesus’ teaching on prayer is all about the Father. 

He himself modeled a life of frequently sneaking away to be with the Father (Luke 5:16) and said that he only did what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19).

I want to suggest that the revelation of God as Father is the center of the Lord’s Prayer and the center of Jesus’s entire teaching on prayer.

Who do we pray to? The Father. Where do we pray? Alone with the Father. How do we begin our prayers? Our Father. I want to suggest that this is implicit even as the answer to the question of why we should pray — to get the reward of being with the Father. The reward of seeking God is God Himself — we get to know the Father.

After this framing, Jesus teaches the disciples what has come to be called the “Lord’s Prayer”:

9  “Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father in heaven,
 may your name be revered as holy.
10  May your kingdom come.
 May your will be done
 on earth as it is in heaven.
11  Give us today our daily bread.
12  And forgive us our debts,
 as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13  And do not bring us to the time of trial,
 but rescue us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9-13, NRSVUE

Each line of the Lord’s prayer corresponds to something in the nature and character of who God is:

Our Father in heaven,
 may your name be revered as holy. (FATHER)
10  May your kingdom come.
 May your will be done
        on earth as it is in heaven. (KING)
11  Give us today our daily bread. (PROVIDER)
12  And forgive us our debts, (FORGIVER)
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13  And do not bring us to the time of trial, (LEADER)
        but rescue us from the evil one. (DELIVERER)

Matthew 6:9-13, NRSVUE

The primary paradigm shift of the Lord’s prayer is not primarily what we pray, it’s who we pray to.

The gift of prayer is that it leads us into a greater encounter of and revelation of who God is. We don’t pray to get results, we pray to get God. And He is the greatest good there is.

Take a few deep breaths. Maybe as you breathe in, pray “Come,” and as you breathe out, pray “Holy Spirit.” 

  • Today, I’d love to invite you to look at the list of characteristics of God revealed in the Lord’s Prayer and ask: who do you need God to be for you today?

  • Then, using the text of the Lord’s Prayer as your launching pad, talk to God! Address Him as Provider, Leader, Deliverer or whatever else you need Him to be!

Best,

Ryan

P.S. I just had the great gift of sharing a sermon on this with our local church The Table Boston. Check it out if you want to dive in deeper!