Sometimes things become too familiar and before long the importance wears off. I think the Lord's Prayer falls into that category. Its words are so often recited that their meanings are lost. Today I'd like to slow the rote and reignite significance.
Our - yours AND mine. Prayer, at its best, is not ‘me’ but ‘we’ focused.
Father -Source and Giver of life. Our life.
Who art in Heaven - the realm from which You operate is not the same as the realm we are limited to.
Hallowed be thy name - You are worthy of honor and praise. Your name is holy, set apart and unlike any other. That is the name by which we are joined one with another.
Thy kingdom come - we suffer under the weight of a tyrant's laws but Your rule of law in this situation is our heart's desire.
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven - in our hearts, lives, and situations we, Your earth-bound children are doers of Your will, just as surely as Your will and desires are executed in the heavenly realm.
Give us this day our daily bread - we receive all that is necessary to empower and sustain us for today.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - we acknowledge and own our failures and inability to redeem ourselves asking only that You deal with us in the same manner and grace we use to forgive those who desire forgiveness from the pain they have brought in our lives.
Lead us not into temptation - not through tests and trials and proving and earning is forgiveness secured.
But deliver us from evil - but by You rescuing us, out of the evil trap(s) we find ourselves in.
for yours is the kingdom, power and the glory forever - This deliverance is wholly possible because Your kingdom is all powerful, true and eternal. It's on the basis of this truth, this reality, this power we, Your children stand, as Your kingdom is ushered into and established on this earth.
Wouldn’t you agree that it’s good to shake-up the familiar from time to time? And because we live on this side of the cross, which made the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in the hearts of humanity a reality, our prayers are powerful indeed.
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