The Lords Prayer - Part 3

THE LORDS PRAYER AS A MODEL: 

The Lord’s Prayer serves as the ultimate prototype. It is a condensed liturgical poem clearly intended for frequent repetition and teaches us what to pray. 

It wasn’t uncommon for different Rabbinic groups to have their own unique creedal prayers at the time of Jesus. They weren’t just asking for a few good tips on prayer they were asking for a “Statement of faith” as such. Perhaps The Lords Prayer is the earliest Christians statement of faith. 

Repeating it regularly Is formative because it helps shape our hearts and minds. 

In my own journey of prayer there was one particular year that the only prayer I could pray was The Lords Prayer. I felt it encompassed all my spirit wanted and needed to pray. Below are a couple of tactics that I used then and still do now as to intentionally allow the crack of a thin space to disturb the routine of the physical world.

- Set an alarm to pray at a certain each day. 

- Pray at 3 set natural stopping points in the day. 

This is not about vein repetition but rather creating a thin space, an opening in the busyness of daily life for the beauty of MORE to shape our lives and earth our beliefs. 

THE LORDS PRAYER AS A MAP: 

A few years ago a friend and I walked up mount Sinai in Egypt. To only took a couple of hours and it was harder coming down than walking up. Along side us were the locals who could seemingly fly up and down the path even with the large uneven steps but they remembered our names and were essentially our guides who along the way described the journey we were on.

The lords prayer can be a map to help us pray our own prayers from the heart acting as a guide rather than a destination. 

Here are a few helpful pointers along the journey of the Lords Prayer.

Our Father - Has a very familial and personal characteristic to it and could be an invitation to pray for your family, your friends families and families in the community.

Hallowed be your name could be an opportunity start your day with giving thanks. To acknowledge the gift that is life and all that we are is given by God. This in itself is an expression of worship.

Let your Kingdom come - To ask for help for particular people, places and situations that are prevalent in your mind.

Give us this day our daily bread - This is a very practical invitation making known that we can speak to God of the very practical and daily needs that we face.

Forgive us our sins - An invitation to name the ways in which we have sinned in full knowledge than when we do God is faithful and just to forgive us. 

This prayer reveals that ALL are welcomed to the awakening of the family of God. 

The Lords prayer is a prayer we can pray so easily and conveniently in the 21st century but in Jesus’ day.... it was a crazy prayer... the prayer of a misfit... a troublemaker, the prayer of a square peg trying to fit in a round hole, the prayer of someone who was not bound by rules, traditions and unnecessary plaudits, it was a prayer some vilified others glorified but no-one could ignore it... it was a prayer that brought unequivacle change, a prayer which pushed the human race forward.... a prayer of a crazy man or a genius... If crazy is believing you can change the world, then Jesus is guilty as charged but it’s only the crazy ones who believe they can change the world because they are the ones who actually change the world...

“Prayer is where the action is." John Wesley

Prayer helps us see beyond the MATERIAL to that which is MORE REAL and TRUE than anything PHYSICAL or LITERAL

Prayer is peeling back the curtain of the TEMPORAL FACADE to reveal the ETERNAL FATHER 

The Lords Prayer is an incredibly helpful MODEL and MAP in our journey of prayer.