Lord's Prayer

Definition and Meaning

The Korean name for the Lord's Prayer, Jugidomun (主祈禱文), means "the prayer taught by the Lord"; it is also called by the shortened form Jugido. It is the prayer that Jesus Christ gave his disciples, saying, "After this manner therefore pray ye" (Matthew 6:9). It falls into two main parts. The first consists of petitions directed toward God, asking that God's name be hallowed, that his kingdom come, and that his will be done. The second consists of petitions for human needs, asking for daily bread (the food needed for each day), the forgiveness of sins, and protection from temptation and evil. Many churches use the Lord's Prayer as a fixed prayer to be recited word for word, while also teaching it as a model of the content and order of prayer.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Lord's Prayer appears in the Gospels at Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. Matthew's version is the longer of the two, and the form that churches recite in worship generally follows Matthew. The concluding doxology (a closing ascription of glory to God), "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever," is absent from some ancient manuscripts. For this reason, the New Korean Revised Version and several other translations enclose this portion in brackets. The practice of praying with the doxology is nevertheless attested in early church writings. After the Reformation, Protestant catechesis taught the Lord's Prayer, together with the Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments, as one of the foundations of the faith. Martin Luther's Small Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism expound the Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase.

Practice in the Korean Church

For many years Korean Protestant churches used an older translation ending with the doxology "Daegae nara-wa gwonse-wa yeonggwang-i…" ("For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…"). In the 2000s the Korean Hymnal Society prepared a new translation of the Lord's Prayer along with one of the Apostles' Creed, and this translation is reported to have been included in the 21st Century Hymnal. The pace at which the new translation has been adopted varies by denomination and congregation, so the old and new translations remain in use side by side. The Catholic Church uses its own separate translation under the name "the Prayer of the Lord" (Junim-ui Gido).

The way the prayer is used in the order of worship also differs by denomination and congregation.

• In many denominations, including the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Holiness churches, it is customary for an ordained pastor to close worship with the benediction. In cell group worship, other gatherings, and some departmental services led by an unordained evangelist or a layperson rather than a pastor, it is common practice to close by reciting the Lord's Prayer together in place of the benediction.
• Churches that follow a prescribed liturgy, such as the Anglican Church of Korea, pray the Lord's Prayer at its appointed place in services such as the Eucharist.
• Many churches confess their faith with the Apostles' Creed at the beginning of the service and recite the Lord's Prayer together at the end.