I am amazed at the general misunderstanding that I find in U.S. churches when it comes to the "Lord's Prayer."
It has almost become nothing more than a cute little poem that gets recited in Sunday morning services and before football games. More than that, however, I do not think it was ever supposed to become the staple for the believers' communication with God that it has become.
It gets started out in reverence and mock-holiness: "Our Father, who abideth in Heaven, ever-hallowed by thy name. Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."
It is a very wonderful beginning to a prayer, but I may say that it is said mostly by people who, while they may call themselves Christians, have no interest in seeing the Kingdom of God come right now, and would be more than a little put-off if God really did start changing their lives to fit His will.
The rest of the prayer gets rushed through, mostly because it is completely misunderstood, and few take the time to ponder what the words mean that are robotically coming out of their mouths: "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our transgressions, as we forgive those who transgress against us. Lead us not from temptation, but deliver is from EVIL(!)"
Aside from being rushed through without thought, here is my point:
JESUS MEANT FOR HIS "PRAYER" TO BE A TEMPLATE FOR US TO USE TO LEARN HOW TO PRAY, not to be meaningless or repetitive words.
He even says in the verse leading up to the "prayer:" "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again." (Mt. 6:7 NLT)
We were not meant to simply repeat Jesus' words over and over and expect that to be good communication. God wants discourse with us!
Just imagine if the only thing I ever said to my wife was this: "Hello dear, you are wonderful. I am so blessed to be your husband. I will always love you. Please always love me."
Maybe at first glance, it would be romantic, and the first couple times, she might love it. But, if that is as far as my communication with her ever went, we would have problems.
God desires communication with us. He gave us the ability to speak. He gave us the ability to form language. And He gave us a template for prayer.
"Father, you are awesome. You are such an amazing God, and I am so blessed to be your son. Thank you so much for blessing me and always providing for me. Please continue to bless me every day as I strive to live for you and make this earth love you more. Please forgive me for my sins, and hold me accountable for the ways that I forgive others. And guard my heart from temptation, and protect me from Satan's attacks. I love you, Lord."
One last point: "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." This gets very misunderstood. It is saying, forgive me in the same way that I forgive others. If I do not forgive well, then I have some things to work on, because God's going to hold me to account for that.
Peace and grace, brothers and sisters,
Joshua
Amen.
ReplyDeleteAh, man, good post! Where to begin?
ReplyDeleteI like much of what you say, and I know it springs from a passionate and loving heart. But there are several points on which I see things a bit differently. I'm afraid it is sadly true that many pray the words of our Lord's prayer without really understanding or even much caring about what it is they are doing. But I can't say I'd be comfortable making that judgment, asserting that Joe over there doesn't really want the Kingdom to come, or Cindy here is just robotically spouting vain repetitions. It can indeed be vain repetition, though so can a "spontaneous" prayer that uses all the right evangelical catch-phrases. God knows the heart.
More to the point though, even if one doesn't really feel that they want the Kingdom to come, or is nervous about the prospect of surrendering their entire will to God's, does that mean that they should not pray for it? I think there is great value in intentionally praying words that are not our own; it keeps our prayers from becoming about us and our personal feelings and desires, and instead focuses the prayer on God. What an awesome thing to sincerely pray in the very words of our Lord, or for that matter, to pray the Psalms, or any of the many prayers contained in Scripture. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The richness of the word of God, not the the poverty of our own heart, should determine our prayer." And while I agree that God wants to discourse with us, I would clarify that prayer cannot be simply discourse alone. Communion between God and man is an incredible thing, and very often my words, no matter how heartfelt, are simply going to be inadequate.
I'm also not sure I would fully agree with your criticism of the Lord's prayer as "the staple for the believer's communication with God that it has become." I think I understand what you're saying, and though I would agree that even a pious praying of the Lord's prayer should not be the whole (or even primary) means of our communion with God, I do think it can and probably should serve as one of the foundations of the Christian life of prayer. Not only as template (though certainly that too), but in the very words themselves. Apart from the reasons already given, I would assert this because the Lord's prayer has been a central feature of Christian prayer throughout the history of the Church. As one who is seeking always to be more connected with my brothers and sisters in Christ, both those now living on earth and in heaven, I find this to be particularly powerful: to pray in the words of our Lord, following the same path of prayer trod by so many faithful saints who have gone before me.
Well, snap! Looks like I've pretty much added my own post here. Thanks for the challenging thoughts - keep 'em coming. "As iron sharpens iron ..."
Peace, brother.