The Lord’s Prayer
When Jesus’ followers asked him how to pray, he gave them words you might recognise. This is how they appear in Matthew’s gospel (chapter 6, verses 9-13, NIV translation):
“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.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
We can pray with these words, or whatever similar version we might have learned. We can also use this prayer as a structure, typically in six sections, reflecting on different aspects of “Our Father” in each, and perhaps using our own words and leaving lots of space for developing thoughts, questions and prayers. For instance:
Our Father’s character - “Our Father in heaven, may your name be honoured…”
Our Father’s Kingdom - “May your kingdom come and your will be done here on earth today, as it is in heaven all the time…”
Our Father’s provision - “Give us today the bread and bits we need…”
Our Father’s forgiveness - “Forgive us what we owe, as we also forgive the people who owe us…”
Our Father’s guidance - “Lead us, so we won’t be led by temptation…”
Our Father’s protection - “And bring us safely through every kind of evil and destruction…”
Why pray this every day?
Jesus taught this prayer while teaching followers to focus on everyday things that matter, and to trust God to meet our everyday needs. In the surrounding teaching, which you can read here, he encouraged people not to worry about tomorrow! “Give us today…” focuses us on today instead, and the “daily bread” he mentioned would have reminded his first Jewish followers of the daily food God provided to his people in the desert.
How creative can we get with this prayer?
In Lent 2021, we asked groups of people to pray about just one section of it, every day for a week, and then share what they found. People’s experiences involved refreshing and deepening their relationships with God and other people who came to mind when they prayed.
You can watch what happened here, and try for yourself today!
