The Lord’s Prayer
“This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13
Strictly speaking, the Lord’s Prayer is a model, not a set liturgy. Jesus’ words lay out some of the important components of prayer. Whenever we pray, we should bear this outline in mind. However, the words have become so beloved down the centuries, spoken by millions of Christians in worship, or whispered at the bedside of some dying saint, that they have come to have a liturgical function. We need not decry this. There are other words that have come to have special significance in this way. It is not for us to reject them just because some have abused the privilege.
The Lord’s Prayer clearly has been abused. We do so every time we speak its phrases without engaging our minds. That is the problem with liturgy. It is too easy to be thinking about something else instead of concentrating upon God, the object of our prayer. But the problem is not with the words, it is with us. Any form of prayer can be abused.
To examine the prayer: it contains six petitions, three of which are directed towards God, three of which concern human needs. It begins by acknowledging the supremacy of God, and of our need to live within His will. It reveres God as the Lord of heaven and as the One who is holy. Yet we are still encouraged to approach Him as our Father. This God is the power behind the coming Kingdom, whose influence is steadily increasing. One day, all of the earth will bow before God. on that day, His Kingdom will be as evident on the earth as now it is in heaven. This same God is the source of all goodness. He sustains us with the things that we need. He saves us from our spiritual indebtedness.[1] He rescues us from the temptations that would lead us astray.[2]
The traditional ending to the prayer is missing. This does not mean that it is unbiblical. It was added as a benediction, by the early church, as a fitting conclusion to this most beautiful of prayers. In it, we ascribe to God the majesty of kingly power, and the glory of heaven.
Father,
May these be more than words to me.
May they express the fervent desire of my heart.
In my prayer, may I be more than the purveyor of empty phrases,
empty because I am too disinterested to give them meaning.
Instead, may my words be rich and meaningful as, in humility,
I approach Your throne.
Amen.
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