What does Matthew 6:9 mean?

This passage contains Matthew's version of what is known worldwide as the Lord's Prayer. Jesus has recently been telling His listeners how not to pray. They shouldn't pray in order to impress other people or mindlessly fill the air with words in hopes of impressing God (Matthew 6:5–8).

What Jesus has just said (Matthew 6:7) makes it clear He did not mean these words to become a mantra, a chant, or the only words anyone ever prays to God. Many people have found reciting the Lord's Prayer to be meaningful both individually and together in churches—which is fine when understood correctly. Christ primarily means this sample prayer as an example of how to talk to God in a meaningful and effective way.

He begins by demonstrating that believers should address God as "Our Father in heaven." Jesus came, in part, to make it possible for mankind to be in relationship with God the Father through faith. To resist a relationship with God the Father, even in prayer, is to resist Jesus' will for His followers. This reference to God as "Father" also separates Christian prayer from many other faiths: to begin a prayer with the equivalent of "Our Father in heaven" is unthinkable for non-Christians.

The second phrase in Christ's model prayer expresses praise for something true about God: that His name is "hallowed," which can also be translated as "Your name is holy." Names are highly significant in Scriptures and the "name of God" brings with it unlimited power and purity. Proclaiming to God that His name is holy is to acknowledge His absolute greatness.