Biblical Texts: Psalm 117, Luke 11v1-4

Today’s passage in Luke is so familiar it can easily go by unnoticed. For those of us in church regularly, we say this prayer so often it can become automatic. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s good to know things by heart, but sometimes it pays to slow down and consider what we’re saying…and to appreciate how incredible the prayer Jesus taught his disciples is.

Jesus begins with those familiar words, ‘Father,’ or, ‘Our Father.’ The ancient texts we’ve got have both versions. That’s a deeply personal way to start a prayer. We can address the God of the universe, the creator, the sustainer, as Father. If we’ve had a tough relationship with our own fathers, those words might be difficult to pray. But as Psalm 117 reminds us, He is a God who is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This is a Father we can trust without holding back. We’re invited to address God as Father, a Father who can perhaps redeem that word for us.

And that God is ‘our’ father. He is my father of course, and he is your father, but the emphasis here is on community. ‘Our Father.’ Those beginning words connect us to God, to those sitting around us, to those worldwide who will pray the same words today, and to all those who have had faith in God over the centuries. There is a communal side to this prayer, we get to pray it together.

But just as he is our Father, he is to be ‘hallowed.’ That’s not a familiar word anymore. You might hear it when describing a football ground. But that is completely inappropriate. When we hallow something we honour what is holy. And what is holy is set apart, distinct, different, worthy of our praise.

It is this God, worth of our praise, whose kingdom we pray would come. And in doing so we recognise that the world we have now is not as it should be. It needs God to set it right. We need the kingdom Jesus proclaimed in Luke 4, the freeing of captives, recovery of sight for the blind, the year of the Lord’s favour. There is a longing here, for God’s peace, his wholeness, his shalom.

‘Give us each day our daily bread.’ This God whom we pray to cares for our needs, our daily bread. There is something so simple about that line. It’s not a prayer for great wealth and riches, it’s not a prayer for our material desires, but our needs, our daily bread – what we need to sustain us. And just as the beginning of this prayer is ‘OUR Father,’ so we pray for ‘Our’ bread. We want to be fed as a community, that no one might go hungry. If I receive my bread, but you do not receive yours, then something isn’t right.

Jesus’s prayer is realistic too. ‘Forgive us our sins,’ we say. Because we know that we are not right with God. We know that often the biggest stumbling block for our prayers and for the kingdom of God is us. Our sin holds us back, it weighs us down. In the words of Hebrews, it stops us running the race that is set before us. We ask for God’s forgiveness, and we are commanded to extend that same forgiveness to others. 

And finally, we ask that we are not brought to temptation. We do not want anything to get in the way of this relationship with our heavenly Father. We do not want to allow ourselves to let go of the beauties of his kingdom for some fleeting happiness.

There is so much in this prayer that Jesus teaches his disciples, and we say it so often that sometimes we miss the deeper parts. Over the next week, I encourage you to say this prayer every morning, but to pause at the end of each line. Perhaps even allow yourself to use the prayer to guide further prayer.

What does it mean for God to be your Father? How can you honour Him?

What would it look like for His Kingdom to come, in your neighbourhood?

What our your needs today? What about the needs of others?

Are there sins you need to confess? What is holding your relationship with God back?

Are there temptations you know that are on the way? Can you bring those to God?

Allow yourself time in this prayer. Dwell on it. Let it seep in. And allow God our Father to encourage and enliven you as you pray.

Amen.