Our Father: Your Son became one of us and gave us the power to address you as He addressed you: Abba Father. And because He became one of us and made us His own, we join Him in calling out to you lovingly and with complete trust: Our Father.
who art in heaven: You, who are the source of all the beauty and goodness around us, must have a place in all of this grandeur. I do not know where it is. I am not even sure it is a place or that you can be confined in any space. But wherever you are, I call that heaven.
hallowed be thy name,: Anything I do in your name becomes holy and sacred and the place where I stand at that moment is hallowed ground; for it has been sanctified by your name and presence.
thy Kingdom come: I see the unfolding of your creation. It took billions of years for the paradise that is earth to be ready for men. But in the fullness of time, in Your time, your kingdom did come and you populated it with people. In my own life, I see your handiwork unfolding day by day. I welcome your Kingdom into my life.
thy will be done: You only desire is love and goodness for us. It is your will for us to be loved and showered with all your goodness. You have filled the earth with good things and beauty. It is your will that happiness and joy will be ours – in Your time – and yes, indeed, Your will be done.
on earth as it is in heaven: There is more to life than what our senses perceive. You have given us the gift of imagination to see what else is possible. You have given us a beautiful earth. With our imagination you have made us imagine there is something more. Your will reigns supreme over all the cosmos.
Give us this day our daily bread: we have our needs – some real, others imagined. And you know what we need even before we ask for them. But still we cry out to you, like a needy child towards his loving Father, give us what we need for today. In trusting dependence but not in greedy acquisitiveness. In humble supplication but not with prideful entitlement.
and forgive us our trespasses: We are sinners and we fail you often. We determine to do good one day and the next day we are back to our sinful ways. Just as we need our daily bread from You, we also need Your constant mercy and forgiveness for we are weak and are often wrong.
as we forgive those who trespass against us: Even as we ask for your pardon and mercy, may we be ready and willing to give pardon and mercy to those who have offended us. May we be as forgiving unceasingly as you are so totally forgiving of our frailties.
and lead us not into temptation: We know the good things that we should be doing and the bad things that we should not be doing. But because of our fallen nature, we tend to gravitate towards what we should avoid and avoid what we should be doing. Give us the courage and strength to steer away from what will keep us away from You.
but deliver us from evil.: The devil is for real. He would have us believe he is not. I have seen enough of life to know that evil exists and can destroy man. Deliver us from death and destruction. Deliver us from the evil one.
The first part of the Lord’s Prayer defines my relationship with God: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind – submitting my will to His will and and myself to His Kingdom. The second part describes how I should live with others: Love your neighbor as yourself – praying not only for my needs but for our daily bread, forgiving so that I am likewise forgiven and not being a temptation to others.
Amen.
Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
Matthew 6:8-14