BLOGPASTOR’S VIEW OF THE LORD’S PRAYER
“..one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven..”(Lk 11.1,2)
When such a clear and direct answer is given to a disciple’s request, “Lord, teach us to pray”, then we must seriously take heed to the Lord’s teaching about prayer. More so today as all kinds of prayer technology is being taught in Christendom, from strenuous strategic spiritual warfare to suspect mantras.
So struck were the disciples by the link between prayer and the more in Jesus’ life and ministry that they wished he had taught them how to pray just as all other rabbis had taught their disciples. They wanted very much to have the same ability to inspire faith and hope and love in others. The rabbis taught their own disciples prayers that encapsulated the essence of what they
wanted to form in their disciples, namely devotion to God, with their particular slant. The disciples hoped Jesus would do the same for them. So Jesus gave them a prayer that would hold the essence of kingdom living, which when faithfully said and prayed by his disciples day after day after day, would nurture the values and spirit of the kingdom in them.
The word that struck me most is “say”. Jesus told them to say the prayer day after day after day. Not that the repetition is necessary for God to hear, but the meaningful saying of these very words of prayer, by force of habitual muttering, would actually inform and shape our desires and align our values to those of Jesus’ kingdom. The prayer would over time and through meditation become a pattern of putting God first, a framework of theme-hooks for us to hang our own personal petitions.
Let us take Jesus’ teaching more seriously and obey him with childlike faith. Let us simply say the Lord’s prayer” from memory. Slowly. Meditatively. Meaningfully. Hanging our own personally hued petitions on the themed hooks. Daily: for the prayer itself prescribes a daily offering, “Give us today our daily bread”. It will then be seen that the Lord’s prayer is actually “the Disciple’s prayer” for whoever prays it and lives it, is gradually formed into an authentic disciple.
Father, thank you for teaching me a simple way to pray. I want to please You and I believe I can develop a new habit of praying this pattern prayer. I believe that more and more You will make me like Jesus in his intimacy and obedience to You. Amen.
