Stop Calling It The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13 is what is commonly called, "The Lord's Prayer." As Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount, after He addressed giving, He started talking about how we should pray not to be seen like the hypocrites who want to be seen, but to pray in secret. Then Jesus said:

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:9-13).

Luke's account of the prayer is similar:

“When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation" (Luke 11:2-4).

This is a prayer that Jesus gave us as a model to pray. This is not a prayer He prayed. The true Lord's Prayer is John 17, which has called The High Priestly Prayer. So, why should we stop calling this, "The Lord's Prayer," when that is what it has been called for many centuries? In the prayer, we ask the Father to forgive us our sins (Luke 11:4). Did Jesus ever asked to be forgiven of any sin He committed? No.

Jesus committed no sin (1 Peter 2:22). Jesus was tempted like we are yet was without sin (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin so that in Him we become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Why in the world, theologically speaking, would we associate this prayer as one that Jesus prayed? Jesus gave this prayer as model for us to pray to the Father, not an example from His own prayer life. If Jesus had to be forgiven of any sin, His death on the cross was meaningless. His life was for nothing.

Brothers and sisters, tradition has called this, "The Lord's Prayer," not scripture. Yes, there are headings in most Bible showing what we are reading, but they are there to help us in our reading and study. This prayer is a model for followers of Jesus to use as they pray to their Heavenly Father. This was not a prayer that Jesus used for Himself because He knew no sin.