"Give us this steak and daily bread, and
forgive us our mattresses."
"Our Father, who are in Heaven, Howard be thy
name."
"Our Father, who art in Heaven, how didja know
my name?"
"Give us this day our jelly bread."
"Lead a snot into temptation." (Someone
who thought he was praying for his little sister to get into trouble.)
These
misquotes by children might make us smile, but they point out the possibility
that a well known prayer can be mumbled out on a regular basis, and not be
understood.
In
Matthew’s gospel the prayer comes in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, and
seems to form the centre. Everything
that Jesus teaches about how to be a disciple and to live well, hinges on
prayer. Jesus gave to his disciples
everywhere, to us, this prayer as a pattern that helps us to encounter God and
grow in Him. From very early in the
history of the church, beleivers were encouraged to memorise this prayer, along
with other key texts. The Apostle’s
Creed tells us what to believe, the Ten Commandments tell us what to do, and
the Lord’s Prayer tells us what to desire.
It is part of our story, of how we can grow to be more like Jesus.
1.
Our Father, who art in heaven
2.
Your name – may it be hallowed }
3.
Your kingdom – may it come }on earth as it is in heaven
4.
Your will – may it be done }
5.
Give us this day our daily bread
6.
Forgive us our sins/debts/trespasses as we forgive those who sin against us
7.
Lead us not into temptation/trials
8.
Deliver us from evil(the evil one)
For
thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
What
we pray and the order that we pray it in seems to very significant. There are three requests towards and
honouring God, and then four requests about our needs.
First,
when we Jesus tells us to call God Father, he is not saying that God is like
earthly fathers; he is saying that we have this privilege and joy of aspiring
to be like our heavenly Father. He is in
heaven – all-powerful and mighty, but he is our Father – caring and noticing
each small detail. He is our
Father – we are part of a family that fills all of time and space.
Requests
2 3 and 4 are in the passive tense.
There is nothing any of us can do to make God’s name more honoured, his
kingdom come sooner, or bring about his will; but as we pray this we find our
wills stirred that we want to see this happen, here on earth, now. We find ourselves tending to think and desire
different things – God’s things. Our
highest priority is to see the name, the kingdom, the will of God honoured and
obeyed here one earth, in our lives.
The
fifth request is for the material things we need. Food, shelter, clothes – the necessities God
knows that that we need and is delighted to supply. The Jews of the first century would have
heard this as an echo of the manna provided in the wilderness on a daily basis
to the children of Israel. In the west
where there are always shops open, stuffed with food, we do not always pray
this with the urgency of our brothers and sisters in less privileged
areas. We even start to pray for luxuries
that are not evil in themselves but reveal that there is work to be done in
establishing God’s priorities in our lives.
The
sixth request is for another necessity, this time a spiritual one –
forgiveness. This is free and
unconditional – on God’s part. He
forgives us, not because we are loving and forgiving but because he
is loving and forgiving. Sometimes we
are given medical procedure or drug and it is not immediately obvious that it
has ‘taken’ or is working; but a test can show that things are going well. When we find ourselves able to forgive then
it indicates that we have received his kind forgiveness to us.
Jesus
knew all about testing and temptation.
He tells us to pray that we will not be led there, and in praying we
will also be conscious of his guiding presence to lead us to avoid harmful
influences and to fill our minds with all that is good.
This
petition is closely linked to the previous one.
Jesus knew that trials and difficulties were inescapable for him and
will be for us. The reality of our
Christian walk will be tested and but we pray for God’s protecting love to
circle us and all whom we love, and we know that when we enter the valley, he
is right there with us to protect and guide.
The
last part of the prayer as we pray it, the Doxology, seems to have been added
later by the early church and follows the standard Jewish practice to giving
all the glory to God. It brings us full
circle , back to the praise and adoration with which we started the prayer, and
acknowledging that God is the one who can make these things happen.
“Amen”
is the word which signifies our acceptance, our “buy in” to the whole
process. It is our signature on the
cheque, our pressing the Submit button that says we accept all the
conditions. As we join in and say this
together, so we are united in obedience to our God and Father, as he has been
revealed to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Discussion
Starters
1. If you had to share
this prayer with someone who had never heard it before, which part do you think
would surprise them most?
2. How do you feel when
we describe God as Our Father?
3. How does a concern
for God’s name, his kingdom, his will, affect how we think and act?
4. Why do you think the
petitions are in the order that they are in?