Learning to Pray

This weekend I had the pleasure of serving as one of the Spiritual Directors for Happening #70 right here at St. John’s. If you were here at all over the weekend, even on Sunday morning, it was hard to miss this spiritual retreat for high-school-aged adolescents. In many ways there are similarities between Happening and Cursillo: energy-filled songs of praise, inspired Faith talks, and lots of surprises along the way. Of course, at Happening there are a lot more pixie sticks consumed. In the midst of the weekend, one of the talks, which focused on Piety, stood out to me.

A high school student named Spencer gave this talk in which she broke down the Lord’s Prayer line-by-line. In this way, she breathed new life into something that we so often hear and say in church. Today, I think we would benefit from taking a step back to ponder anew the way in which Jesus teaches his disciples and us to pray in this lesson from Matthew.

Our teacher starts by saying, “Pray then in this way,” as in when we gather together or when you are praying alone this shall serve as the template for your prayer. You may know this already, but in every Episcopal service we say the Lord’s Prayer. Every service from Baptism to Eucharist, the Daily Office to Individual Devotions, every service all the way through Burial includes this prayer.

Jesus begins this supplication with “Our Father in heaven,” which has become so customary to us, but sounds pretty strange if we think about it further. Father is an intimate term, as in close in proximity and relationship; however, in heaven connotes one who exists in the beyond. Right from the start Jesus addresses God in a paradoxical way, God both immediate and transcendent at the same time!

The descriptor Jesus next uses for our Father in heaven is “hallowed be your name.” Hallowed means holy, set apart, or sacred. We are to set God’s name apart as one that we revere, take serious, and glorify. Often, though when we set something apart we create a perceived distance, but Jesus immediately guards against this speaking the next line.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God who we set apart as sacred, transcendent, and beyond us does not desire to live in holy isolation. In fact, that stands as antithetical to what Jesus says here. God’s kingdom is to come, God’s will is to be done, on earth, just like it is in heaven. God, then does not exist off as a watchmaker who wound creation long ago, but as an intimate parent whose presence, action, and will exist in this realm as they do in the one that we hope will come.

Prayer though does not only exist so that we might ponder high and lofty aspects of God’s existence, for Jesus’ next words stand out as so practical, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Here a connection exists between the Holy Father and our sustenance as human beings, not just in our bodies only, but in our minds, hearts, and souls too. Without God we do not survive. God creates everything, every second, throughout all time! From aspects of basic survival we move into the more relational parts of existence.

Jesus then prays, “And forgive us our debts,” which would be a powerful enough plea to ask of God; however, he follows it saying, “As we also have forgiven our debtors.” An association persists between our forgiven-ness and our forgiving of others. In Matthew’s version of this prayer Jesus hammers home this point at the end, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The flow of forgiveness stops when we hold something against another. God will always forgive us; however, when we do not relinquish the debts we hold against others we miss the fullness of God’s grace, which amplifies as we share it with others!

Jesus’ prayer continues, “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” For some time I struggled with this line, as I love to look for the good in the world; however, evil exists. Our lives are full of moments of trial in which we have many choices that range from the ultimate good to the totally evil. Jesus establishes for us the path to live into our created goodness by relying upon the Father, praying for his assistance always, but especially in those dire moments. Evil will not overcome the good, for Christ came, comes, and will continue to come to aid us in moments of need. This prayer ends by urging the person praying to lean on God when one is not strong.

We might pray this prayer a little differently in light of these observations. Perhaps it could sound like this:
Our transcendent, yet intimate Father (or Mother),
Your name is set apart as holy.
Let your kingdom be here now,
As it is in the eternal realm.
Feed us today: spiritually, emotionally, and mentally as well as physically.
Help us to forgive others, as we pray you forgive us
Through your loving grace.
Please do not allow us to fall into evil
In moments of trial and temptation,
Instead, help us to rely fully upon you and your way.
The control, all authority, and any honor are yours, not ours.*
Amen.

Let us continue to pray to Our Father throughout these forty days and beyond!

*The last line is sort of a summation that the Church added after Jesus died.