Thoughts on the Lord's prayer

Imagine being able to go home, knock on the door, turn the handle and it opens so that we can see our father, that one person in our lives who has always been there and whom we can trust to understand everything that we want to see him about. Wouldn’t that be good at this time for many, many people. However, good fathers might never have been there, and, for some, many good fathers have passed on. There is one Father who has always been there, who is there for us today and will be there in the future. So, let us walk through the Lord’s prayer, the one prayer Jesus recommended we pray and use as the backdrop to our prayers –

Our Father, who art in heaven –

God’s home is in heaven so we can knock on the gates of heaven and they will open to allow us to enter into his presence.

Hallowed be thy name –

We will enter with an acknowledgement and respect for our heavenly Father, the one who has made everything, understands everything and will look after everything.

Thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread –

We will know that he wants the best for us as we bring our needs to him at this time. His desires for us will be for good and not evil. No-one will be able to thwart his will and we know for sure that he is not caught out by what has happened. We know he will enter into our sufferings as he did when his Son had to go to the cross.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us –

The temptation will be to jump up and down and do a good wobbly in our fears and frustrations, riding high emotionally. The question is how can we ask for something when we feel all churned up, so our asking for forgiveness when we sort our attitudes out will help us to forgive those who have let us down, deprived us of our freedom and caused us so much distress and grief. (Perhaps there is a suffering we will not understand and that is of those who live in poverty, whatever the cause, and the little they have has been taken away.)

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil –

What joy we would give the Father as we ask him to help us live above the things that would pull us down into places of bad attitudes and looking after self rather than others.
It would be so refreshing, encouraging and lightening of our burdens as we stand up to leave and are able to say with one heart, mind and soul.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
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As we leave and shut that door behind us, we will know that we are better off for having spoken heart to heart with our heavenly Father. 

Merle Sparkes

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