Jesus said to this disciples:

7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him. 9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.'"

16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; 18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:7-15 - World English Bible

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. In 6:5 (not here), he warned his followers not to empathize the outward appearance of the act; in 6:7, he urged them not to entreat divine favor through repetitive pronouncement of God's name. Many non-Jews believed the gods only heard their requests through the proper sequence and repetition of prayer; these pagans focused on ritual and style, rather than content. Indeed, they held that use of a deity's name gave them power over that spiritual being. Jesus, of course, rejected that notion. He did not address repetitive prayers such as meditation, however.

Matthew's Our Father is the version of prayer we are familiar with. With the addition of the ending (6:13b, not included in the best manuscripts), the prayer fitted the classic prayer form in Judaism; it began with God, came down to people and returned to God. Besides the prayer's simplicity, it focused on the Kingdom, a coming reality. It praised the name of its king in intimate terms ("Father") and entreated the growth of his reputation and his rule ("your will be done"). It recognized all things came from YHWH ("Give us this day our daily bread."); this verse could also be interpreted as a request for bread the day the Kingdom arrives in the end times and bread within the Kingdom (hence, Eucharisitic overtones). The same tension between present fulfillment and future gift with bread in 6:11 existed with forgiveness in 6:12; would the disciple be forgiven now or at the Final Judgment (or both)? 6:13a clearly referred to the future with testing in the rise of the Evil One and the coming tribulation.

With the rise of Christianity in medieval Europe, the Our Father reshaped the notion of popular attitudes about prayer. Its focus shift from ritual to content, from style to intent. Prayer was not about claiming our power over God, but realizing his power over us.

What do you think about when you pray the Our Father?