Prayer takes on different forms in different religious expressions. Prayers are chanted, spoken or sung. Prayers are spoken aloud or uttered more silently.
One of the notable expressions of prayer in Christianity is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.” There are two answers, depending on which Gospel account you read.
In St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus answers the disciples’ question this way. “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.”
Maybe that’s not how you remember it exactly. Likely it’s because we are more familiar with the version in St. Matthew’s Gospel that goes like this. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”
It still may not sound like the Lord’s Prayer you are familiar with because it is rendered in a modern translation. And you may wonder where the ending is that goes, “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
That ending is found in only a few ancient manuscripts that are not regarded as reliable. The point is that this prayer is not locked into a particular form or text. The point is that we pray “kind of like” this prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and us.
The thing about the Lord’s Prayer that strikes me is that it is a prayer for others. It is mostly about holy things like God’s will, and forgiveness.
Only one sentence mentions an ordinary request, “Give us each day our daily bread.” That says to me that prayer is about communicating with God about holy things for the most part. These holy things have to do with our relationship with God.
God’s will and God’s reign are for the good of all people. Prayer is not about giving God a list of what we want in material goods.
Jesus also said, “Pray without ceasing.” Here our sense of prayer expands from a particular prayer text or a specific time or posture to all of life. God really desires to be in touch with us and you and I to be connected to God and God’s good will for us. Keep God in mind all the time.
Ronald E. Koch is Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gilroy. He is a founding member of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County. Pastor Koch can be reached at lc*********@gm***.com.
