6:9–13 The Lord’s Prayer. It was common for first-century Jews to pray three times a day, either privately or in a group of ten called a minyan in Hebrew. By the end of the first century, Christians had also adopted daily prayer practice using the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus drew on phrases already in use during his day when he instructed his disciples: “Our Father” was used in a prayer called the Eighteen Benedictions, which was almost certainly being prayed in the synagogues of Galilee. Another Jewish prayer that Jesus likely drew from was called the Qaddish, an Aramaic prayer for mourning the dead. It begins, “Exalted and sanctified [hallowed] be his great name in the world he has created by his own will. May he establish his kingdom.” Jesus was not inventing something new but reinterpreting the common experience of disciples. Jesus devoted much of his energy to defining what he meant by his kingdom rather than creating totally new prayer practices (see note on Lk 11:2–4).

6:9 In this manner does not mean to pray using only these words, but to pray in this way. People often reduce this prayer to empty recitation—exactly what the Lord said not to do (v. 7). The prayer is composed of six requests. The first three ask for the kingdom to come (vv. 9, 10) and the last three are for God to meet the needs of His people until the kingdom arrives (vv. 11–13). Hallowed be Your name is not an ascription of praise to the Father. The verb is an imperative and means “May Your name be hallowed.” This recalls Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezek. 36:25–32, where the prophet says Israel has profaned God’s name among the nations. One day God will gather His people from the nations, cleanse them, and by this means vindicate the holiness of His great name. The hallowing of the Father’s name means the arrival of God’s kingdom.

16 From the promise of v.15 James draws an inference. Since confession of sin and the prayer of faith bring healing, Christians should confess their "sins to each other and pray for each other." It is not merely the elders who are told to pray here, but Christians in general. If a person has sinned against a fellow-Christian, he or she should confess the sin to that person. This will no doubt result in mutual confession—"to each other." Then the two believers should "pray for each other." If the sin has caused sickness, healing will follow confession and prayer. James proceeds to add the assurance that prayer "is powerful and effective." The "righteous man" here referred to is the one whose sins have been confessed and forgiven. His prayer is fully able to secure results, such as healing of the sick.