Albert Barnes on Matthew 6:9-13

This passage contains the Lord's prayer, a composition unequalled for comprehensiveness and for beauty. It is supposed that some of these petitions were taken from those in common use among the Jews. Indeed, some of them are still to be found in Jewish writings, but they did not exist in this beautiful combination. This prayer is given as a model. It is designed to express the manner in which we are to pray, evidently not the precise words or petitions which we are to use. The substance of the prayer is recorded by Lk 11:2-4. It, however, varies from the form given in Matthew, showing that he intended not to prescribe this as a form of prayer to be used always, but to express the substance of our petitions, to specify to his disciples what petitions it would be proper to present to God. That he did not intend to prescribe this as a form to be invariably used is farther evident from the fact, that there is no proof that either he or his disciples ever used exactly this form of prayer, but clear evidence that they prayed often in other language. See Mt 26:39-42,44, Lk 22:42, Jn 17:1-26, Acts 1:24.

(t) "Our" Lk 11:2 (u) "Father" Rom 8:15 (v) "which art in heaven" Ps 115:3 (w) "Hallowed be thy name" Ps 111:3, 139:20