02 - LORD'S PRAYER - Jesus Taught Us How to PrayNäide

01 – Sacred and Secular

In the Lord’s Prayer, we see the right relationship between God and humanity, between heaven and earth, and between faith and daily life. In this short prayer, everything comes together into one unified vision.

The first part of the Lord’s Prayer focuses on God’s concerns—His Fatherhood, the holiness of His name, the coming of His kingdom, and the fulfillment of His will. The second part turns to human concerns—our daily bread, the forgiveness we need, the temptations we face, and the evil that constantly threatens us.

Both of these dimensions are woven into the very prayer Jesus gave us. It shows that the Lord not only cares about His own purposes, but also about the everyday needs of His people. At the same time, it reminds us that we are called to lift our eyes beyond our personal concerns—like daily bread—and remember God’s name and His kingdom.

The themes Jesus united in this one prayer—God’s glory and our human needs—are not meant to be divided into “sacred” and “secular” categories. We must not forget God because of our demands, nor ignore the realities of life in light of His greatness.

Through this prayer, Jesus shows us how to live out all our relationships: with God our Creator, with His creation, with one another, and even with our own hearts.

Children all around the world know the Lord’s Prayer. They sing it, recite it, pray it, and repeat it—sometimes imperfectly, but always with faith and hope in their hearts. That’s why we’ve chosen it as the theme for this first series of Dedinhos de Prosa (“Small Talks”)—a set of reflections on this prayer that is loved everywhere, even if not always fully understood.