Your simple key to unlock the Lord’s Prayer is to remember that Hebrews rhymed ideas, not words. That’s why it sounds to our ears like they’re always repeating themselves. But it’s not just for show. Those repetitions mean that the second half of each couplet reflects or explains the first. With that key in mind, look at the Lord’s Prayer, and notice how it breaks down into couplets.

1a: Our Father who is in heaven,
 1b: hallowed be your name.

2a: Your kingdom come,
 2b: your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

3a: Give us this day our daily bread,
 3b: and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

4a: And lead us not into temptation,
 4b: but deliver us from evil.

5: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.
(Yes, I know part 5 doesn’t have a couplet. I’ll explain why later.)

Broken down this way, the words gain added depth. That’s the point of the rhyming. Let’s look at each couplet individually.

Couplet 1: Both parts balance God’s other-ness with God’s closeness. God is neither an impersonal force nor our buddy. Jesus taught us to call God by name, “Father.” That’s intimate. But that holy name addresses the God of heaven, beyond what we know. Our job is to honor that tension, rather than settling for one or the other.

Couplet 2: Jesus talks about the Kingdom a lot, and people have different ideas about what he meant. This is as simple a definition as you’re ever going to find. The Kingdom of God is the place where God’s will is done. In heaven, God speaks and angels fly. On earth God speaks and we eat cheeseburgers. As Christians, we pray and work for the day when God’s will is done just as completely on earth as it already is in heaven.

Couplet 3: Yes, it’s in part about our daily need for food, but the deeper meaning is that our chief needs go beyond food. Our primary need is to be reconciled: to God, to one another, to the world, and to ourselves. And how we treat each other has a direct impact on our progress along that path.

Couplet 4: Keep us out of new trouble and rescue us from the old troubles we’ve already found. That covers a lot, but the contrast speaks to a tension between God’s will and our wills. We are often our own worst enemies.

Part 5: Most scholars agree this was not part of the original prayer, but was added by the early church, perhaps because they couldn’t let evil be the last word in their most-used prayer. Notice the shift away from couplets: for yours (One) is the kingdom, power, glory (Three) forever. The early church chose to end their Lord’s prayer with praise to the triune God.

Obviously, there is more to say. People have been living and studying this prayer for 2000 years. But I hope this simple key will help you unlock these familiar words in a new and meaningful way. Take a minute to pray it again, and listen for the poetic rhythm of the couplets. May the Lord bless and keep you.

By: Rob Brink