Westminster Larger Catechism
Complete Q1-Q196 import from Wikisource raw text. Public-domain historical catechism text; digital source is Wikisource; edition comparison with a trusted Westminster edition is pending. Wikisource says the source document for this digital text is not known; proof-text lines are not included in this source.
Source and trust
Author: Westminster Assembly
Kind: catechism
Tradition: reformed
Original work: Public-domain historical catechism
Digital source: Wikisource transcription
Edition status: Edition comparison pending
Proof texts: Proof texts not included in this source
Use guidance: Use with source citation; compare edition before formal reuse
Source provider: Wikisource
Edition citation: Westminster Larger Catechism, Wikisource digital text, accessed 2026-07-04.
Readable sections
Questions 1-50
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
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Q. 2. How does it appear that there is a God?
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Q. 3. What is the Word of God?
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Q. 4. How does it appear that the Scriptures are the Word of God?
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Q. 5. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
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Q. 6. What do the Scriptures make known of God?
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Q. 8. Are there more Gods than one?
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Q. 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
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Q. 10. What are the personal properties of the three persons in the Godhead?
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Q. 11. How does it appear that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father?
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Q. 12. What are the decrees of God?
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Q. 13. What has God especially decreed concerning angels and men?
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Q. 14. How does God execute his decrees?
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Q. 15. What is the work of creation?
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Q. 16. How did God create angels?
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Q. 17. How did God create man?
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Q. 18. What are God's works of providence?
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Q. 19. What is God's providence towards the angels?
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Q. 20. What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created?
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Q. 21. Did man continue in that estate wherein God at first created him?
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Q. 22. Did all mankind fall in that first transgression?
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Q. 23. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
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Q. 25. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
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Q. 26. How is original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity?
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Q. 27. What misery did the fall bring upon mankind?
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Q. 28. What are the punishments of sin in this world?
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Q. 29. What are the punishments of sin in the world to come?
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Q. 30. Does God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
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Q. 31. With whom was the covenant of grace made?
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Q. 32. How is the grace of God manifested in the second covenant?
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Q. 33. Was the covenant of grace always administered after one and the same manner?
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Q. 34. How was the covenant of grace administered under the Old Testament?
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Q. 35. How is the covenant of grace administered under the New Testament?
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Q. 36. Who is the Mediator of the covenant of grace?
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Q. 37. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
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Q. 38. Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?
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Q. 39. Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be man?
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Q. 40. Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man in one person?
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Q. 41. Why was our Mediator called Jesus?
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Q. 42. Why was our Mediator called Christ?
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Q. 43. How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?
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Q. 44. How does Christ execute the office of a priest?
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Q. 45. How does Christ execute the office of a king?
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Q. 46. What was the estate of Christ's humiliation?
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Q. 47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?
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Q. 48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?
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Q. 49. How did Christ humble himself in his death?
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Q. 50. Wherein consisted Christ's humiliation after his death?
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Questions 51-100
Q. 51. What was the estate of Christ's exaltation?
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Q. 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?
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Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
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Q. 54. How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God?
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Q. 55. How does Christ make intercession?
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Q. 56. How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world?
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Q. 57. What benefits has Christ procured by his mediation?
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Q. 58. How do we come to be made partakers of the benefits which Christ has procured?
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Q. 59. Who are made partakers of redemption through Christ?
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Q. 61. Are all they saved who hear the gospel, and live in the church?
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Q. 62. What is the visible church?
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Q. 63. What are the special privileges of the visible church?
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Q. 64. What is the invisible church?
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Q. 65. What special benefits do the members of the invisible church enjoy by Christ?
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Q. 66. What is that union which the elect have with Christ?
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Q. 67. What is effectual calling?
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Q. 68. Are the elect only effectually called?
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Q. 69. What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
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Q. 71. How is justification an act of God's free grace?
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Q. 72. What is justifying faith?
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Q. 73. How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?
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Q. 75. What is sanctification?
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Q. 76. What is repentance unto life?
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Q. 77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?
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Q. 78. Whence arises the imperfection of sanctification in believers?
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Q. 82. What is the communion in glory which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
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Q. 87. What are we to believe concerning the resurrection?
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Q. 88. What shall immediately follow after the resurrection?
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Q. 89. What shall be done to the wicked at the day of judgment?
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Q. 90. What shall be done to the righteous at the day of judgment?
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Q. 91. What is the duty which God requires of man?
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Q. 92. What did God at first reveal unto man as the rule of his obedience?
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Q. 94. Is there any use of the moral law to man since the fall?
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Q. 95. Of what use is the moral law to all men?
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Q. 96. What particular use is there of the moral law to unregenerate men?
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Q. 97. What special use is there of the moral law to the regenerate?
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Q. 98. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
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Q. 99. What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the ten commandments?
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Q. 100. What special things are we to consider in the ten commandments?
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Questions 101-150
Q. 101. What is the preface to the ten commandments?
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Q. 102. What is the sum of the four commandments which contain our duty to God?
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Q. 103. Which is the first commandment?
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Q. 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
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Q. 105. What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment?
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Q. 106. What are we specially taught by these words before me in the first commandment?
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Q. 107. Which is the second commandment?
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Q. 108. What are the duties required in the second commandment?
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Q. 109. What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?
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Q. 110. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment, the more to enforce it?
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Q. 111. Which is the third commandment?
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Q. 112. What is required in the third commandment?
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Q. 113. What are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?
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Q. 114. What reasons are annexed to the third commandment?
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Q. 115. Which is the fourth commandment?
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Q. 116. What is required in the fourth commandment?
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Q. 117. How is the sabbath or the Lord's day to be sanctified?
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Q. 119. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment?
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Q. 120. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?
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Q. 121. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?
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Q. 122. What is the sum of the six commandments which contain our duty to man?
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Q. 123. Which is the fifth commandment?
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Q. 124. Who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment?
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Q. 125. Why are superiors styled father and mother?
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Q. 126. What is the general scope of the fifth commandment?
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Q. 127. What is the honor that inferiors owe to their superiors?
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Q. 128. What are the sins of inferiors against their superiors?
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Q. 129. What is required of superiors towards their inferiors?
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Q. 130. What are the sins of superiors?
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Q. 131. What are the duties of equals?
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Q. 132. What are the sins of equals?
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Q. 133. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment, the more to enforce it?
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Q. 134. Which is the sixth commandment?
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Q. 135. What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?
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Q. 136. What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?
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Q. 137. Which is the seventh commandment?
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Q. 138. What are the duties required in the seventh commandment?
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Q. 139. What are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment?
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Q. 140. Which is the eighth commandment?
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Q. 141. What are the duties required in the eighth commandment?
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Q. 142. What are the sins forbidden in the eighth commandment?
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Q. 143. Which is the ninth commandment?
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Q. 144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
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Q. 145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
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Q. 146. Which is the tenth commandment?
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Q. 147. What are the duties required in the tenth commandment?
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Q. 148. What are the sins forbidden in the tenth commandment?
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Q. 149. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
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Questions 151-196
Q. 151. What are those aggravations that make some sins more heinous than others?
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Q. 152. What does every sin deserve at the hands of God?
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Q. 154. What are the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation?
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Q. 155. How is the Word made effectual to salvation?
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Q. 156. Is the Word of God to be read by all?
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Q. 157. How is the Word of God to be read?
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Q. 158. By whom is the Word of God to be preached?
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Q. 159. How is the Word of God to be preached by those that are called thereunto?
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Q. 160. What is required of those that hear the Word preached?
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Q. 161. How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
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Q. 163. What are the parts of a sacrament?
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Q. 164. How many sacraments has Christ instituted in his church under the New Testament?
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Q. 166. Unto whom is Baptism to be administered?
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Q. 167. How is our Baptism to be improved by us?
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Q. 168. What is the Lord's Supper?
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Q. 173. May any who profess the faith, and desire to come to the Lord's Supper, be kept from it?
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Q. 175. What is the duty of Christians, after they have received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper?
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Q. 176. Wherein do the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper agree?
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Q. 177. Wherein do the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper differ?
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Q. 179. Are we to pray unto God only?
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Q. 180. What is it to pray in the name of Christ?
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Q. 181. Why are we to pray in the name of Christ?
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Q. 182. How does the Spirit help us to pray?
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Q. 183. For whom are we to pray?
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Q. 184. For what things are we to pray?
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Q. 186. What rule has God given for our direction in the duty of prayer?
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Q. 187. How is the Lord's Prayer to be used?
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Q. 188. Of how many parts does the Lord's Prayer consist?
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Q. 189. What does the preface of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
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Q. 190. What do we pray for in the first petition?
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Q. 191. What do we pray for in the second petition?
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Q. 192. What do we pray for in the third petition?
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Q. 193. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
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Q. 194. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
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Q. 195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
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Q. 196. What does the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
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