Thoughts for the Day

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Standard Revised Version)

Thoughts

The Lord's Prayer appears in both Matthew and here, in Luke's Gospel, the shortest version of the two. It's made up of six petitions, and except for the first two petitions which refer to God, concern the person who is praying. Always in prayer we should start with God. Just as when we greet someone we say "How are you?", so when we speak to God we start with Him. "Hallowed be your name," we say. The word 'Hallowed' means to be holy and worthy of our total devotion. So when we think of the word 'God' we think of greatness and majesty. This in itself should remind us that we long for God's Kingdom to be complete in our world.

Then we have the four petitions for ourself: we ask for food; to be forgiven; are reminded that we should forgive those who hurt us; and finally ask not to suffer a time of trial or temptation. Notice there is nothing about world peace; or those who are sick; just governments; or even the church. Jesus encourages us to set our minds on God, and pray for our needs. Only then are we ready to pray for all those things that are on our hearts at any one time.

Father: Almighty God who calls us to be Your children,
Hallowed be your name: may Your holy name be blessed,
Your kingdom come: may Your love spread throughout the world.
Give us each day our daily bread: may we be grateful for our food and drink,
And forgive us our sins: both those known and unknown.
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us: may this be true,
And do not bring us to the time of trial: and that time keep us faithful.
Amen.