- Prayer is based on this belief that we can somehow talk with the God of the universe, which is pretty mysterious. Where do you even start? - Well, at the very center of a collection of Jesus' teachings called the Sermon on the Mount, he taught his followers a simple prayer to adopt as their own.
The prayer has two short halves, each with three requests. The first half focuses on God's purposes in the world, and then the second half addresses our concerns in day-to-day life. - So it's a short prayer.
- It is, but this little prayer contains a whole new way to look at everything in the world. - Jesus begins the prayer this way: "Our Father who is in the skies. " So God lives in the sky?
- Well, in the Bible, the skies, or the heavens, are a way of imagining God's universal power and presence that are above all things. In God's realm, God rules as the king whose will and purpose are always done. - But Jesus doesn't refer to God as king.
- No. Jesus calls God "our Father. " - That's a bold thing to claim about the God of the universe.
- It is. But a key claim in the Bible is that God has appointed humans as representatives and beloved children to embody God's wisdom and rule in the world. - But the story of the Bible is about humanity's disregard for this calling--how we make a mess of things.
- And so the prayer continues: "May your name be recognized as holy. " - Now, "holiness," that's a fancy religious word. - Sure.
In the Bible, "holy" signifies God's one-of-a-kind status. God is the source of all reality and the author of life. And it's this God that calls the family of Israel out from among the nations and then attaches his holy name to them, setting them apart as holy representatives to all the other nations.
- But just like all of humanity, they mess up this calling. - And that led to Israel's defeat and subjugation to many empires, bringing dishonor on God's holy name. But Israel's prophets, like Ezekiel, said that one day God would restore the holiness of his name among the nations.
- How? - Well, by raising up a new representative, who will restore God's rule over Israel and the world, so everyone can see how holy and good God really is. That's who Jesus claimed to be when he went around announcing the arrival of God's Kingdom.
- And that makes sense of the next lines of the prayer. "May your kingdom come, and may your will be done, as it is in the skies so also on the land. - Jesus taught his followers that when we love God and our neighbor, when we treat others with God's generosity and justice, we are entering God's Kingdom.
And so this is a prayer for the reunion of Heaven and Earth, and we are invited to participate. - Okay. That's the first half of the prayer, focused on loving God and seeking his will.
- The second half shifts to the challenges of daily life as we pray for God's Kingdom to come. - "Give us today our daily bread. " That's as basic as it gets, asking God to provide food.
- Yeah. Jesus is using an image from Israel's story, when they journeyed through the wilderness, and God provided just enough bread each day. - That's a tough place to be, not knowing where your next meal will come from.
- And remember, Jesus' audience was filled with poor people struggling to get by during the Roman occupation. And so he invites them to join their ancestors in the wilderness, trusting God's provision each and every day. - Wow.
Okay. And the prayer continues. "Forgive us our debts as we also forgive those indebted to us.
" - Jesus made forgiveness central to his movement. He announced that God was forgiving Israel and all of humanity for its long history of violence and greed. And so he calls his followers to do the same, to forgive those who hurt us.
- But we can't go around forgiving everyone. I mean, won't evil spread unchecked? Won't people take advantage of you?
- Well, for Jesus, the problem is that our desire for revenge just keeps the cycle of pain going. He taught that forgiveness begins with naming the wrongdoing but then not seeking vengeance. - So that doesn't mean becoming best friends with the person who wronged you.
- No. But it does mean releasing my right to get totally even with them, and even learning to pray for their well-being instead. - That kind of forgiveness requires radical trust in God.
- Yes. Jesus invites us to see that forgiveness is like breathing. In order to truly receive and take in God's forgiveness, you have to be in the habit of giving it out.
The two work together as one. - Finally, Jesus prays, "Don't lead us into the test, but deliver us from the evil one. " So wait, God might test us?
- Well, remember the biblical story, how God appoints humans as his representatives in ruling the world? That opportunity presents them with a choice. - Will they partner with God and rule by his wisdom?
- But along with every choice, there's a voice whispering that we could do things our own way by our own wisdom. And that voice twists the test into a trap and forces us to decide: Whose voice will we trust? - So Jesus invites us to ask if we can be spared from tests altogether.
Like, can I just live a normal life please? - But Jesus also knows that even normal life is full of choices that will force us to trust God or something else. And so when we find ourselves in a trial or a test, Jesus urges us to ask for protection from the evil one's lies.
- And with that, the oldest form of the prayer comes to an end. Short and powerful. - But check this out.
This is Jesus' own prayer that he prayed himself. - Really? - Yeah.
The night before his execution, Jesus went to a garden to pray. And while he didn't want to die, he called out to "my Father," saying, "Let your will be done, not mine. " - Oh, that is this prayer.
"May your Kingdom come and your will be done. " - Jesus had been praying this way for so long that when his greatest test came, his arrest and execution, these were the words that carried him through. - And Jesus was delivered from evil when God raised him from the dead.
- Right. In fact, it was through his act of self-giving love that God's forgiveness and heavenly Kingdom came to Earth. This is how God's holy name was restored.
- So this prayer that Jesus taught his followers, it's a way to make Jesus' story our story. - The prayer invites us to daily trust God and to love and forgive each other so we can participate in the story of Heaven and Earth becoming one. - In the prayer that we just looked at, Jesus taught his followers to pray for God's daily provision.
- And Jesus has a lot more to say about trusting in God and not in our stuff. And that's what we'll look at next.
