A Deeper Look At The Lord’s Prayer

Luke 11: 1-13 NRSV

We are so very fortunate to live in a time where prayer can be experienced in many different and varied ways. In last Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 11:1-13) the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. And whilst Jesus also prayed in many ways, he decided on this occasion to teach them to pray the “Our Father”.

In our current world the “Our Father” or “Lord’s Prayer” is a valuable and powerful prayer to pray, yet at times we can fall into the trap of reciting it without much thought. It rolls off the tongue like a well-known song. But as we delve a little more deeply into it and slow down our reading, there is a deep treasure within.

Fr Anthony Crook, a priest within our diocese, provided some powerful insights on Sunday which opened my mind and heart to these deeper dimensions. He explained that in the time that Jesus lived, in the Hebrew tradition, the community were not allowed to say the word “God” as it was regarded as too sacred. They would use consonants, but not say the full name.

For Jesus to suggest that they begin this prayer with the words “Our Father” was almost unfathomable. He was suggesting that God is someone close to us, someone, with whom we can have a relationship. This was a very progressive idea and would have stretched the community in a significant way.

Today we use many different words when we speak to God or about God – Loving God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father, Mother, Compassionate One, to name a few. However, each reference reflects a relationship with God and it was this very thing that Jesus was encouraging his disciples to recognize and experience.

So today you are invited to look a little more deeply at the Our Father reflecting on its relevance to each of our lives.

Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name.

God wants to be connected to us, to have a relationship with us. God loves us all deeply, sees our goodness and wants the best for us.

When have you felt a moment of closeness to God this past week? This may have been during a time of prayer, during a conversation with a friend, or a moment in nature.

Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.

Jesus was suggesting that the kingdom is not something out there, but something that we contribute to today. And if we truly believe this, we are invited to consider ways we are contributing towards this.

Where are you feeling called to bring greater justice in our world today? Where are you feeling called to be a voice or reason or a measured presence?

Give us this day our daily bread.

In asking for daily bread we are not asking for food, sustenance or even possessions. Such things as a new iPhone, car, or holiday would certainly be enjoyed, however, Jesus is speaking about those deeper needs and deeper heart desires.

In the busyness of life, we can sometimes lose touch with those things that we most need. Jesus invites his disciples and us to get back in touch with those needs, trusting that God will both hear these and will provide for them. This provision may not always be in the exact form or time frame we would envisage or hope, however, there is a commitment from God to lovingly respond to this need.

Take a moment now to consider what it is that you really need in your life today? Share these words with God trusting that each one is heard and held.

And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

In a recent book by Hugh Mackay entitled “The Kindness Revolution” Hugh commented that “Forgiveness calls on deep reserves of moral courage: the courage to break out of the spiral of self-pity; the courage to set aside resentment; the courage to rise above bitterness; the courage to act well when all our instincts call on us to act badly.”

These authentic words remind us that forgiveness involves a conscious choice and can be incredibly challenging to do. Some things are incredibly hard to let go of and forgiveness does involve a great deal of moral courage.

Where are you feeling called to forgive?
Where in your life do you need the strength to forgive?

And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.

We can easily get distracted by the weight of these words. And yet Jesus was providing some insight into the fact that in life we will be exposed to things which are both life-giving and not life-giving. There are also times when it is not always clear. Prayer and conversations with God offer us a pathway to discern whether a path or choice is the best one for us.

Is there an aspect of your life which is not life-giving? You may like to invite God to help discern this and if necessary to let it go.

Amen

This final statement “Amen” clearly marks the end of the prayer but also affirms the content of the prayer. Amen acknowledges that what has been shared is held true by the faith community.

The Our Father is a prayer deeply infused with invitations to live life more fully. Just as Jesus would have ruffled some edges in teaching this prayer, we may also be called to ruffle some edges to do those very things that the Our Father invites us to take on. It is a challenge worth facing!