BACK TO THE WELL; REFRESHMENT FOR THE SPIRIT
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Dr. Joe Kutter
(Part One)
It’s a marvelous mystery that prayer offers a channel by which we can talk to God and
God can speak to us. Prayer is nothing other than paying attention to God both in offering the realities of our lives to God and in inviting God to offer the realities of God’s life to us.
The Lord’s Prayer offers a profound opportunity both to speak the deepest realities of our own lives to God and to attend to the presence of God in our own. In this exchange, we discover the reality that Jesus named “Living Water.” It is the water that springs up to eternal life. (John 4: 14)
We will pray the Lord’s Prayer a word or a phrase at a time. With each word or phrase we will both speak the realities of our own hearts to God and we will invite God to speak to us, indeed, to live within us.
God, be with us as we pray.
“Our Father who art in heaven….”
OUR
The pronoun “our” speaks to our community.
Does Jesus suggest, by saying “our Father” that prayer is always both intensely personal and always communal, i.e., we never really pray all by ourselves?
What does it say about God’s character to hear that God wants to be addressed as “Our Father”?
Spend time, aware that you are in God’s presence, and aware that you share the presence of God with all who love and serve God.
OUR FATHER
Spend some time, aware that you are in the presence of The One who, as God, loves you more than any other person ever can. As you prayerfully receive the love of God, give your love to God.
IN HEAVEN
Heaven the sphere of God’s eternity and presence, where God’s will is perfectly fulfilled.
Spend some time, aware that you are in the presence of the creator of heaven and earth. As you lift the realities of life in this world to God in prayer, allow yourself to dream of heaven and all who will be with you there.
HALLOWED/HOLY
Spend some time giving your full attention to the holiness of God. Receive both the holiness of God and your own humility in God’s presence as gifts from God.
HALLOWED/HOLY IS YOUR NAME
Spend some time, aware and that you are in God’s presence and consider that God is both “Father/Daddy” and “hallowed/holy”. Offer to God your deepest reverence, respect and love. Ask God to fill you with God’s own Holy Spirit.
PRAYER POSSIBILITIES
Select a specific time and place to pray each day and designate it as your personal chapel. Take a walk and be aware that you are walking with God.Invite God to speak to you through the repetition of a specific word or phrase:
Our Father…Our Father…Our Father….
In heaven…In heaven…In heaven….
Holy is your name…Holy is your name…Holy is your name….
Select a word or phrase as the “word for the day” and intentionally repeat it through the course of the day’s activities.
(Part Two)
We continue our meditative journey through “The Lord’s Prayer”, praying:
Thy (Your) Kingdom come
Thy (Your) will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
As we said last week, the intention of prayer is to give our full attention to God, to provide a time and place in which we can speak the deepest realities of our lives to God and pay attention to that which God is speaking to us. Praying “The Lord’s Prayer” provides a structure by which we can both speak to God and listen to God.
Thy (Your) Kingdom come….
In speaking the word “thy” or “your” our attention is clearly focused on God. We are not yet speaking our own needs or describing our own realities. We are first giving our full attention to God.
Regardless of your posture; sitting, standing, kneeling, walking, or working, take a moment to be fully aware that you are in God’s presence. With or perhaps without, words say, “I know that You are here and I am giving my attention to You just as I know that You are paying attention to me.” Spend some time aware that you are in God’s presence.
Thy (your) Kingdom come:
Consider the word, kingdom: king – dom = the king’s domain.
The kingdom is the king’s domain or where the king dominates or where the king rules or reigns. God’s kingdom is where God dominates or rules or reigns.
Where do you see God’s reign or rule most clearly? What does it look like?
If God rules or reigns in your life, how does it look and feel? How does the presence of God in your life, the rule of God, in your life alter the shape of: Your thoughts? Your emotions? Your relationships? Your behavior?
What might you see in the life of another person that would cause you to believe that God rules in his or her life?
What would it look like if God ruled in our: City? Nation? World?
Spend some time, asking God to become the ruler in your life.
Thy (your) Kingdom come:
In praying for God’s Kingdom to come, it appears that Jesus believes that God does not yet rule over all, that God’s Kingdom, in some way, has not yet come! What is the evidence that God does not yet fully rule: In your own life? In our community? In our nation? In our world?
The acknowledgment that God does not yet fully rule reveals some of the broken and sinful places with which we live. What are some of the specifics? Injuries and Illness?
Broken Relationships? Tyranny and Oppression? Conflicts: Within ourselves?
Within families, neighborhoods and churches? In our world?
Spend some time quietly in God’s presence. As you pray, “thy (your) Kingdom come”, ask “What might God want to change within me in order to advance the coming of God’s Kingdom?”
Your will be done:
What are some of the things that you know about God’s will?
The Great Commandments:
Love God with all of your being
Love your neighbor as yourself
The Ten Commandments:
(Exodus 20:1-17)
God wants the whole world to be saved
(John 3: 16-17)
What else do you know about God and what God “wills”?
Do the phrases “thy kingdom come” and “thy will be done” say the same thing?
When we pray for God to reveal God’s will to us, we are often praying for guidance in the decisions that must be made in the course of life: Where to live? What job to take? Who to marry?
What action to take in a particular set of circumstances. Where are you praying for God to reveal God’s will? Consider that God’s will has as much to do with the formation of our character as with the specific decisions that must be made: It is God’s will that we be:
Loving
Kind
Forgiving
Merciful
Generous
Honest
Reverent
What would you add?
Spend some time quietly in God’s presence and pray, “thy (your) will be done.” Ask God to shape your character as well as guide your daily decisions.
Thy (your) will be done
Knowing God’s will and doing God’s will is not always the same thing. The Bible (book of James) says that “Faith without works is dead.” To paraphrase, “to believe without doing is useless!” Where do you see the will of God being done? At home? In our community?
In the world?
The word “Kingdom” implies citizenship. What does it mean to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom? Many scholars belief that wherever God’s will is done, then and there, God’s Kingdom has come. Does that seem true to you?
Spend some time quietly in God’s presence praying, “Grant me the guidance, wisdom and courage to become the person you created me to be and to be faithful to you in all that I do.”
On earth as in heaven
Is this a prayer that the whole world will become the Kingdom of God and become obedient to God’s will? If so, what are the implications for evangelism and mission?
What are the implications: For you? For our church?
Spend some time with God, praying that God’s “will be done in me as in heaven.”
Amen.
(Part Three)
Stand or sit with your palms facing upward as though you are prepared to receive the blessing that God has for you today. Imagine that God is just above, raining down the necessities of life for you and be glad that you are in God’s presence now.
Pray “The Lord’s Prayer” being intentional in addressing each word and phrase to God, aware that God is paying attention to you as you are paying attention to God.
We continue with our prayerful consideration of “The Lord’s Prayer”
Our understanding of God clearly shapes the way that we approach God in prayer. If we thing of God as a stingy tyrannical miser, we will pray accordingly but if God is indeed like a loving Father, our prayers will be shaped by that faith. “The Lord’s Prayer” teaches us how to pray based on a very clear perception of God’s character. Jesus teaches us to ask for some things and not for others based on that which God wants to give. In teaching us to ask for some things and not for others, Jesus opens our minds and hearts to receive that which God wants to give and to hear that which God wishes to say to us through our prayers.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
In saying the word “give” we are affirming that God is essentially “a giver.” When we learn that a person or (a god?) is a miser or a monster, we know not to ask. But Jesus teaches us that God, at the very core of God’s character, is a generous giver.
Where have you experienced the generosity of God?” The necessities of life?
Material blessings? Relationships? Pardon for sin?
____________
____________
____________
To say the word “give” is to ask… And to ask is to confess a condition of dependency…
And to be dependent is to be humble … or humbled! To ask is to be aware that the potential giver has the right to refuse. God is not required to give anything to anybody at any time! How or when have you experienced the condition of humility?
Or humiliation? Have you ever been reduced to praying, “Please God, I beg of you”?
Aware that God is with you and paying attention to you, praise God for God’s never ending generosity.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
To who does the word “us” apply? As you pray for daily bread, who is included?
Who would you intentionally leave out of the prayer for the daily necessities of life?
Big question: In the word “us” is there a cry or plea for justice i.e. that all of God’s children will be fed? How can we pray “us” and be content with the millions of God’s children who live lives of nutritional deprivation – hunger? In saying “us” Jesus clearly includes “me.”
Pray now for the “bread” that you need for daily life.
Pray for others in their quest for “daily bread.”
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
We are being led to focus our attention on the “here and now”, our immediate concerns. Life with God is always lived in the present moment so we are taught first to lift the needs of today to God. If God is always found in the present, how often, do you suppose, we have missed God by living in the past or in the future? Jesus is probably referring to the story of the ancient journey through the wilderness. To the wandering children of Israel God provided a single day’s supply of manna, enough bread for each day. Each day’s necessity was provided on the day that it was needed – neither before nor after. That became the sign of a continuing dependency on God and God’s continuing faithfulness to us.
How comfortable are you in praying “this day”? Is it possible that one of the needs of “this day” is to make prudent preparations for tomorrow and to include that in our prayers?
Spend a few moments being aware that you are in God’s presence and to pray for the things you need today.
Lift others to God and pray that their needs will be met today.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
Does bread mean only bread or is it a symbol of all of our basic needs? For what other basic needs could bread symbolize? Clothing? Shelter? Education? Sanitation?
Health Care?
_________________
_________________
_________________
This is deeply personal. I am taught to pray that God will provide my needs.
At the same time, to pray only about my needs is to deny the spirit of the prayer…
Which is to deny the spirit of Jesus… Which is to deny the character and the will of God!
Be aware that God is here and that is fully aware of you. Offer to God whatever comes to mind.
(Part 4)
Sit or kneel and be fully aware that you are in the presence of God. To kneel is to confess the utter superiority of God. You kneel in the presence of a power and wisdom and love so powerful that it simply commands your loyalty, service and love. We kneel to honor and revere God.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer knowing that in this moment God is paying attention to you just as you are giving your full attention to God.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. (Others use the words “trespasses” and “sins” but the words are clearly “debts” and “debtors”) When you see or hear the word “forgive” what comes to mind? Pardon? Excuse? Let off? Absolve? Exonerate?
If forgiveness pertains to a debt, forgiveness means that the debt does not have to be repaid. What is the debt? What do I owe to God or what are my obligations to God?
To do God’s will
Obedience
Loyalty
Honor and Worship
The Ten Commandments
“Love justice, do mercy and walk humbly with God” (Micah)
“Let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty river.” (Hosea)
“Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Jesus)
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
To ask forgiveness is to admit that I have not lived up to my obligations, that I have not paid my debt to God. It is nothing short of an admission of spiritual poverty and the need for the protection of bankruptcy.
Remember that God is a generous God. It is only because you already know God’s generosity that you dare ask forgiveness. Consider the debts to God that are still unpaid. Dare to ask, “Forgive us our debts.”
We tend to think of our obligations and debts to God purely as individual concerns but Jesus taught us to pray “Forgive us.” Jesus believes and teaches that we have both individual obligations to God and shared or communal obligations to God. For example, just as I am in debt to God, so too is our “church” in debt to God. Who is the “us?"
Who are the groups that, as groups, may have failed to pay their debts to God?
Church
Family
School
Government
Business
_____________________
____________________
____________________
_____________________
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
A thesaurus suggests the following synonyms for the word “as."
Because
Since
Seeing that
While
When
At the same time as
For example
Such as
Equally
To the same degree
To the same extent
So Jesus teaches us to pray,
Forgive us our debts (because) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (since) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (seeing that) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (while) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (when) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (at the same time as) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (for example, as) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (such as) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (equally as) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (to the same degree as) we forgive our debtors
Forgive us our debts (to the same extent as) we forgive our debtors
Jesus teaches us that God’s forgiveness of our debts is profoundly connected to the forgiveness that we offer others.
This is the only petition that receives further commentary at the end of the prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
As you are fully aware of God’s presence and that God is fully aware of you, what forgiveness do you need to give to somebody else?
An old grudge
A painful memory
A terrible disappointment
A wound on the heart
Who do you need to release from the need for “paybacks”?
____________________
______________________
________________________
_______________________
If we are obligated to God to forgive those in our debt, those who have sinned or trespassed against us, then this may be another moment in which you realize how totally impossible it is to give to God all that is owed to God.
Ask God to flood your soul with the full realization that you are forgiven.
Ask God to grant you the grace, all the wisdom, courage and power, that you need to forgive those who have sinned against you.
(Part 5)
Imagine that you are in a strange neighborhood. The streets are narrow, crooked and crowded. Your eye scans the spaces and there seems to be hundreds of places where danger could lurk. The simple reality of not-knowing the area stirs a sense of fear. However, you have a guide who has traveled these crooked streets and knows the way. So, not only do you carefully watch the streets, you keep your eye on the guide.
Not knowing what the rest of today or tomorrow may bring, ask God to help you to keep your eyes on Jesus. You may choose to pray with your palms open or your hands up to symbolize your desire that God will take your hand and lead you through the course of the day. Pray for God’s daily guidance just as you pray for daily bread.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer giving your full attention to God just as God is giving full attention to you.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….
The great problem with a leader is that you may choose not to follow! Bullies coerce others into subservience or obedience but leaders invite by the power of their character and wisdom and love. Jesus prays to God as a “leader.”
If God is a, indeed the ultimate, “leader”, what is most likely to prevent you from following?
_____________________
_____________________
What do you do to “keep your eye on Jesus”?
Regular Bible reading
Prayer
Worship
Deeds of kindness and Love
Reflection and thought
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Do you have a sense of God’s “leading” now? If so, where might God be leading you?
To do what I am doing in the way that God wants me to do it
To intensify the practices that will help me to keep my eye on Jesus
To contact an old friend or a new acquaintance with words of encouragement
To be open to share my faith with someone struggling with fear or despair
To offer special help to someone in need
To accept a new responsibility for the sake of the Gospel
To reconcile a broken relationship
To forgive an antagonist
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
You may wish to stand as a sign before God that you are willing to go wherever God leads. Ask God to lead you in “paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23). Pray that the Holy Spirit will be your constant guide in the through the events of every day life.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….
If God is our Leader and if keeping our eye on Jesus is the discipline that we most need for walking the narrow, crooked, and crowded streets of life, then our first temptation always is to take our eyes off Jesus. The wonders of life are so spectacularly awesome and sometimes so frightening and the streets are so busy and crowded, that keeping our eyes on Jesus is often a difficult thing to do. Like a child at the fair, there is always one more piece of candy to taste, one more sight to see, one more ride to experience, distractions and diversions to capture the attention and losing sight of Jesus seems almost inevitable. No wonder we get lost! So we pray, God, do not take us into places where the distractions and competition for our attention is so great that we forget to follow you. Do not let us lose sight of Jesus.
What is most likely to distract you from following Jesus?
Stress at work
Complications in family life
A cantankerous person at church
The suffering of a friend
My own physical pain
Desires that are out of step with the will of God
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
With you head bowed and your hands folded in a sign of humility before God, confess your temptations to God and ask for the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit in your efforts to faithfully follow Jesus.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….
There are times when we suffer the consequences of our own decisions and the results are exceedingly painful. Having lost sight of the way of Jesus we pray, “God, free me from the results of my own trespasses.” The Apostle taught us in Romans that “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life” and we pray to be forgiven and to be pardoned.
For what “consequence” do you see deliverance?
Broken relations and the behavior that caused the break
Separation from God and the loss of a relationship with God
Violating one of the Ten Commandments
Dishonesty in some form
A failure to exercise kindness, mercy and love
Sexual indiscretion
Neglecting the results of injustice and oppression
Simple selfishness
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
You may wish to kneel in humble confession that you deserve the “wages of sin” and that you are seeking the pardon that only God can give. Ask God for deliverance from you sin.
There are times when Evil imposes itself on the innocent or less guilty. There are times when, from our point of view, that we can not believe that the suffering of someone who appears to be innocent is the just dessert for any sin committed. Suffering is sometimes the consequence of something initiated by someone else or some force of nature. So we pray, “deliver us from evil.” We pray for safety.
For what security or safety do you pray?
Protection for our children
Traveling mercies
Safety for soldiers
Protection of innocent civilians in the war zones
A shield against illness and injury
The prevention of death
Strength and wisdom for spiritual struggle
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
______________________
Ask God for the protection against evil that most concerns you now.
The last part of “The Lord’s Prayer” as commonly prayed is not included in the New Testament accounts. It has been added for the purposes of worship. Its intention is clearly to reaffirm our faith and hope in God and to assert that God alone is God and Lord of our lives.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer giving your full attention to God just as God is giving full attention to you.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
The prayer ends as it began by giving our full attention to God. We have entrusted the fundamental concerns of our lives into the hands of God and now we conclude by asserting that God is more than able and willing to respond.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Of all the kingdoms and empires and republics that this world has ever known, only God’s Kingdom will endure. All others will ultimately fail and fade away.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Power is the ability to ultimately fulfill your purpose. When God has decided that human history has run its course and that it is time finally and fully to establish the Kingdom of God in this universe, then God will do so and God’s power will be plain for all to see.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
God will finally receive God’s due credit, honor, reverence, and worship. God’s glory will shine like the Kansas sun on a sky-blue summer day. It will shine brightly and all the world will bow down in worship.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Every kingdom of this world is bound by the limits of time and space. But God and God’s Kingdom are forever. God’s Kingdom is measured by eternity and you and I have been naturalized as citizens of the eternal kingdom
Amen
Let it be so!
Offer a prayer of gratitude and praise to God for the faith that sustains you now. Sit quietly and be aware that God is paying attention to you as you pay attention to God.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly offering every phrase to God as your personal prayer.