Jesus told his 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.* ’

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Matthew 6:7-15 - World English Bible

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples the Our Father, a set of petitions influenced by the berakah style of praying. The berakah addressed God first ("Blessed are you, Lord God, king of the universe..."); the prayer of Jesus replaced that formal address with a simple "Our Father," denoting the same intimacy Jesus had with his Father in heaven. Berakah blessed the Lord for his his activity in the world; the Lord's Prayer anticipated such action in the coming Kingdom. Beyond the petition for daily needs (6:11), the prayer encapsulated the message of the Lord (deliverance from the Tribulation in 6:13 and forgiveness at the Final Judgment in 6:12). This translation added the glory ending to the prayer (not in the best transcripts, but most likely added by a Christian scribe to complete it), thus giving it a Jewish flavor; Jewish prayers began with God, came down to the human level and, logically, returned to God.

Jesus added two more details to the subject of prayer: repetition and forgiveness. Notice Jesus did not object to the number of prayers, but the way they were used. Gentiles prayed in vain repetitions, thinking they could control deities by the precise use of their names and the concise number of their invocations. They wanted control, not for contemplative purposes (like the Rosary or the Jesus Prayer).

Also notice how Jesus linked prayer with forgiveness. The entire exercise of Christianity hinged on the belief that God would come to judge the world and show the followers of the Christ mercy, but that mercy was contingent on the mercy Christians showed to others. In essence, the Our Father and the faith of the petitioner depended upon the virtue of forgiveness.

Who do you have to forgive this week?