The Lord’s Prayer

Wednesday, March 15: “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord’s Prayer – Pater Noster – Our Father. Known by several names, it is the prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples when they asked how to pray. This may be the most common link between Christian denominations. You can find the prayer in various forms on pillows, plaques, needlework pieces, and assorted knick-knacks. Given as a pattern for prayer, not just a set prayer, it is said in almost every language and often remembered by those who have lost the memory of everything else in their lives. To see the prayer in 1325 languages and dialects, go to http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater. The Lord’s Prayer appears twice in the gospels, the above citation and also in Luke 11:2-4. While there may be differences in some of the translations, the basics remain the same. The sins–debts–trespasses variation is perhaps the most prominent; trespasses seems to be the preferred word in Protestant churches. Language changes over the years, and the meaning of words is not necessarily the same as it was in Shakespeare’s time when the King James Version of the Bible came to be.

In Luther’s Small Catechism, which many of us had to memorize in our early teens, we learned that there is an invocation and seven petitions including a final doxology. Roman Catholics tend to omit the doxology or separate it from the main body of the prayer. It is almost certainly not included in the original prayer but a later addition found in some ancient manuscripts used as a part of the liturgy of the early church. Older folks tend to use the King James Version, which they learned as children. The Lutheran Book of Worship, the “green book” most commonly used in our churches, provides words for two different versions – take your pick.

If you have ever read the Mitford series of books by Jan Karon, you may recall that Father Tim frequently prays “the prayer that never fails” and encourages his parishioners and friends to do the same. THY WILL BE DONE – the simplest and perhaps the most difficult of the petitions. We sinful creatures continue to insist that our own will be done, much to our frustration and consternation. Our pride refuses to believe that there is a bigger plan than our own, and we need to yield our will to a greater power.

As with all familiar things, we sometimes repeat the prayer of Jesus without much thought. Each time you pray, choose one of the petitions and concentrate on the meaning. As children of God, we are invited to come before the Father and open our hearts to Him. We ask for our daily needs to be fulfilled, for forgiveness and the grace to forgive others. We reach out for a helping hand in the danger of our daily battles with sinfulness. We recognize our humbleness and the sovereignty of our Lord over the world’s activities. We acknowledge the eternal glory of God and praise his holy name.

PRAYER: 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN

Rosemary Sinniger, Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, rks@bugjammer.com