What does Matthew 6:9 mean? (the Lord's Prayer)
“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name' opens the Lord's Prayer. Jesus teaches us to approach God as a near and loving Father, yet to begin not with our requests but with reverence for who he is.
Jesus introduces the model prayer with 'Pray then like this.' The very first word, 'Our,' sets prayer in family terms and in community — we come to God not as strangers but as his children, and alongside others who call him Father.
'Father in heaven' holds two truths together. 'Father' speaks of intimacy, access, and love; 'in heaven' speaks of his majesty, power, and otherness. Healthy prayer keeps both — neither a distant deity nor a casual buddy, but a Father who is also King.
'Hallowed be your name' is the first request, and it is striking: before asking for anything we need, Jesus teaches us to ask that God's name be honored as holy. Prayer rightly begins by reorienting our hearts around God's glory, which puts every later request in its proper place.
Are we supposed to recite this prayer word for word?
Jesus said 'pray like this,' giving a pattern as much as a script. Christians both pray these exact words and use them as a model for shaping their own prayers.
What does 'hallowed' mean?
It means 'treated as holy' or 'honored as set apart.' To pray 'hallowed be your name' is to ask that God be revered and glorified — in our hearts and in the world.
Greek word studies — original-language background to the verse.
Original BibleDawn explanation · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.