Scripture Story Sketch Notes · Matthew 6:5–15; Luke 11:1–4
The Lord’s Prayer
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” Matthew 6:9
His disciples watched Him pray and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus taught them to pray in secret, without empty repetition, and gave them a pattern that begins, “Our Father.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that prayer is not a performance. Some people prayed on street corners so others would notice them. Instead, He said, go into a private room, shut the door and pray to your Father, who sees in secret. And don’t pile up empty words, because “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
Then He gave a pattern: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” We ask for His kingdom and His will, for daily bread, for forgiveness as we forgive others, and for protection from evil, and we end by giving Him the glory. Luke records that on another occasion a disciple watched Jesus pray and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and He taught them the same pattern.
Who’s who
Jesus Christ: who prayed often and taught us how
His disciples: who asked Him to teach them
Our Father in Heaven: who already knows what we need
Where and when
A mountainside in Galilee (Matthew 6), and “a certain place” where Jesus had been praying (Luke 11).
Watch for the Savior
Watch how the prayer begins, and what Jesus says right after it about forgiving others.
Eight stops from the disciples’ question to the amen. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: teach us, the pattern, daily bread, and forgiving. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Matthew 6:5“as the Meaning: pretenders, actors. are”
Matthew 6:6“enter into thy Meaning: an inner room.”
Matthew 6:7“use not Meaning: empty, thoughtless words.”
Matthew 6:9“Meaning: honored as holy. be thy name”
Matthew 6:12“forgive us our Meaning: sins, what we owe.”
Matthew 6:13“Meaning: truly, so be it.”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders, Church resources or outside sources. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The sky, the bow, the crown, the earth, the bread, the ledger, the path, the shield and the sun. Matthew 6:9–13
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Where are you?
Not sure how, in need, hurt by someone, or tempted. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
The pattern
Jesus gave His disciples a pattern for prayer. Tap each part in the order it comes, from the disciples’ question to the amen.
“After this manner therefore pray ye.” Matthew 6:9
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Their world, their words
A little background on prayer in Jesus’s day helps the pattern come alive. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
Prayers for show
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: some devout Jews “ostentatiously went through the ritual of prayer.”6
Jesus taught a different way.
Church resource · Wirthlin
Vain repetitions
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “Our prayers become hollow when we say similar words in similar ways over and over.”6
Real words, from the heart.
Church leader · Nelson
Four versions
“The Lord’s Prayer is recorded twice in the New Testament and once in the Book of Mormon.”4
Plus the Joseph Smith Translation.
Church resource · Bible Dictionary
Why ask?
“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant.”7
He is willing.
Word study · Greek
epiousios ἐπιούσιος · “daily” (Matthew 6:11)
Bible Hub: “for the coming day, for subsistence.”8Outside · lexicon
Enough for today and the day ahead. Like manna, He provides one day at a time.1
Word study · Greek
opheiléma ὀφείλημα · “debts” (Matthew 6:12)
Bible Hub: “that which is owed, a debt.”9Outside · lexicon
Luke’s version says “sins.” Sin leaves us owing what we can’t repay; the Savior paid it.2
What the text does not say
Jesus doesn’t tell us to repeat these exact words every time. He says, “After this manner,” a pattern to follow. And He doesn’t say prayer informs God of our needs: “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Prayer draws us close to Him.1
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Look to Him
He prayed Himself, He taught us to pray to our Father, and He invites us to talk to God every day.
“Our prayers follow patterns and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught us how to pray.”
“Each of us has problems that we cannot solve and weaknesses that we cannot conquer without reaching out through prayer to a higher source of strength.”
“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part.”
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Lord’s Prayer is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for February 15–21, 2027 (Matthew 6–7).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The words are in Matthew 6:5–15 and Luke 11:1–4; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
