Timing: 3 minutes • Instructions: pair-share first, then hear 2–3 examples from the group.
What's something you've repeated so often it's become automatic (a phrase, routine, or habit)?
How did it shape your thinking or behavior over time?
Was the repetition helpful or harmful?
Connection: This sets up how the Lord's Prayer is meant to form us through repetition—not empty ritual but transformative practice.
📚 Leader Note: This discussion guide is based on our comprehensive Lord's Prayer study, which includes detailed word studies, chiastic structure analysis, Old Testament connections, and extensive theological exploration. Review this for deeper background before leading the discussion.
📖 Scripture Reading
Matthew 6:9–13
Read aloud slowly. Consider having the group read it together a second time.
BibleProject Scholar Team Translation:
"Our Father who is in the skies, may your name be recognized as holy. May your Kingdom come, and may your will be done—as it is in the skies, so also on the land. Our daily provision of bread, give to us today. And forgive us our debts, just as we also have forgiven those indebted to us. And don't lead us to be tested, but deliver us from the evil one."
Tip: After reading, pause for 30 seconds. Ask: "What word or phrase stood out to you?" Let 2-3 share briefly.
💭 Discussion Questions
1"Our" Not "My"
⏱️ 3 minutes
Jesus could have taught us to pray "MY Father"—but he didn't. What changes when prayer starts with "OUR"?
How does this challenge individualistic spirituality?
Who is included in your "our" that you'd rather exclude?
What if your worst enemy is praying this same prayer?
Push deeper: This isn't just about community—it's about being unable to approach God without bringing everyone else with you.
2The Dangerous First Three
⏱️ 4 minutes
Before ANY personal requests, we pray for God's name, kingdom, and will. Why might this order be threatening to us?
What if God's reputation matters more than your reputation?
What if his kingdom conflicts with your personal empire?
Have you ever NOT wanted God's will to be done?
Key insight: These petitions reorder our desires before we ask for anything. They're meant to change what we want.
3Today's Bread, Not Tomorrow's
⏱️ 3 minutes
In our world of stockpiling and retirement accounts, what's unsettling about asking only for TODAY's bread?
Connection to manna that spoiled if hoarded (Exodus 16)
How does anxiety about tomorrow affect today's generosity?
What "daily bread" are you trying to store up?
Challenge: This isn't anti-planning but anti-hoarding. It cultivates trust and prevents the illusion of self-sufficiency.
4The Terrifying "As"
⏱️ 4 minutes
"Forgive us AS we forgive others"—this little word makes forgiveness conditional. Why would Jesus make this so stark?
Can unforgiveness actually block God's forgiveness? (see Matt 6:14-15)
Who are you struggling to forgive right now?
What if forgiveness isn't feeling but decision?
Pastoral note: Forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation or trust—it means releasing the right to revenge. Acknowledge real hurt while pointing to freedom.
5Does God Lead Us Into Testing?
⏱️ 4 minutes
This petition seems to suggest God might lead us into testing—what's that about?
Testing reveals what's really in us (Deut 8:2)
The Spirit led Jesus TO the wilderness to be tested (Matt 4:1)
What's the difference between testing and temptation?
Where are you being tested right now?
Nuance: Testing can strengthen faith OR become a trap. We're asking for protection from tests that would destroy us, while trusting God through necessary trials.
🌙 Jesus Prays His Own Prayer
In Gethsemane, facing the ultimate test, Jesus prays: "Not my will but your will be done" (Matt 26:39; Luke 22:42)
6When Prayer Meets Pain
⏱️ 3 minutes
Jesus taught "Your will be done" when it was easy—then prayed it when it cost everything. What does this reveal?
The prayer isn't just words but a way of life
Jesus shows it's okay to ask for another way first
Trust doesn't mean absence of struggle
Jesus embodied every petition: He hallowed the Father's name, brought the Kingdom, aligned his will, trusted for daily provision, forgave his killers, faced the ultimate test, and was delivered through resurrection.
🌀 Hidden Structure
A. Hallowed be your name
B. Your kingdom come
C. Your will be done (heaven → earth)
CENTER: Daily bread (dependence)
C′. Forgive us … as we forgive
B′. Lead us not into testing
A′. Deliver us from evil
The prayer mirrors itself around daily dependence—God's glory connects to our deliverance, his kingdom to our testing, his will to our forgiveness.
🎯 Application
7Making It Real
⏱️ 3 minutes
Personal: Which line of this prayer do you most resist praying honestly? Why?
Practical: What would change if you prayed this every morning for 30 days?
Communal: How could our group pray this together in a way that actually forms us?
Challenge for the Week: Pray the Lord's Prayer daily, but PAUSE after each line to make it specific:
Whose name needs honor? What kingdom work? Whose will?
What's today's bread? Who needs forgiveness? What test looms?
Closing (2 min): Have the group pray the Lord's Prayer together slowly. Pause after each petition for people to add specific, brief requests silently or aloud. End by asking: "How do you want this prayer to form you this week?"
🔥 Going Deeper
The Scandal: Early Christians prayed this 3x daily (Didache 8). They believed repetition didn't create vain religion but formed revolutionary people.
The Trajectory:
From "my" to "our" → death of individualism
From needs to God's name → reordered desires
From stockpiling to daily → vulnerable trust
From resentment to release → freedom from bitterness
From self-protection to "deliver us" → admitted dependence
"To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us." —Richard Foster