A Prayer to Ponder

Dear Sammy and Max,

Almost every Sunday in almost every church someone says “let us say together the prayer that Jesus taught us” and almost everyone in the church says the “Our Father” together. The prayer comes from two different stories in the Gospels and one of the important words is different in the Gospel of Matthew than in the Gospel of Luke. That difference is the reason I am writing this note. I will tell you why when we get into that part. Here’s the prayer and what I think when I say it.

Our Father - Jesus called God Abba which means “Daddy.”, because he knew how much God loved him but Father is a formal word, more appropriate for churches.

Who art in Heaven -Jesus wanted us to know that God is as real as you and I and so he named the place God lives.

Hallowed be thy name. - When Jesus was a boy, he learned to respect God more than anyone by only saying God’s name when praying. When Max says “GoodGod loves you,” that’s a prayer.

Thy kingdom come, - Jesus’ family lived in a time when just a few people were kings and everyone else followed their rules which were often made by selfish kings. In God’s kingdom people will always be kind and just.

Thy will be done, - This tells God we know that no matter what, God wins J

On Earth as it is in Heaven.-SURPRISE! God is in the earth (like in dirt!) and everywhere else -  at your table, in your bed, in your yard, in your town… in the sky and infinity.

Give us this day our daily bread - We remember to remember every day that God gives us all good things.

And forgive us our debts - Debt is the word that is in Matthews’s Gospel, but not in Luke’s. A debt is something one owes to another person. I like saying “Debt” in this prayer because it helps me to remember that when I’m not honest or kind I take a little piece of God’s goodness away from the world and I have to give it back.

  

As we forgive our debtors - I “give back” to God when I apologize to the person I hurt, and when someone is unkind or unjust, even if I’m angry, I pray that they know God loves them too. (This is hard for me!)

  

And lead us not into temptation - God doesn’t lead us into temptation! What Jesus wants us to remember is that no matter how hard it might be, we will make good choices when we trust God.

But deliver us from evil, - Parents make rules so children will stay safe AND so they will grow into the person God wants them to be. Mary and Joseph taught Jesus God’s rules (the 10 Commandments) and by the time he was a grown- up he knew deep in his heart that because God loved him  he wasn’t afraid of the bad because he knew the good..

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen  This end to the prayer is not in the Gospels, but people usually say it because it is amazing that God, who is so strong and Ninja powerful knows and loves each of us from the day we are born into forever.

Love, Marmee