At church we have been doing a series on the Lords Prayer. I preached this past weekend and ended my message by praying the lords prayer over people, praying inside the prayer things we have learned about the prayer and things we long for. Some people have asked for the prayer for here it is:
OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN
Thank you God that we are not alone, that not only are you my daddy but you are OUR daddy. That all of us belong to you and that you are here and not far away. Thank you that you are a safe refuge for us, and that we can come to you at anytime, because you are not in the distant heavens but present with us in these heavens where we live right now.
You are in the air we breathe, in the molecules that make up our existence. You are before and between our thoughts. We are completely surrounded by your presence.
HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
God your name is what matters; it is the name above all names. All of creation starts with and hangs on you. Your name was before everything and will outlast everything. It is worthy of our complete attention and adoration. If we need to understand one thing it is that you are it; that you are to be treasured and loved. God we are seeking to make you the central concern of our life. We want our lives to be defined by your name. To find our identity in you
YOUR KINGDOM COME. YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
God may your rule be completed in and around us. We know we are jacked and continue to make a mess of things. God our kingdom sucks, and we need yours. The way things are in heaven, we want that here. We need the things of your kingdom: Healing, Wholeness, Mercy, Kindness, Justice, Love and Peace, all that stuff. God, we are tired of War, Hatred, Envy and Evil. We want to see an end to sickness and suffering. God we admit our need and beg for your spirit to be unleashed. Bring the beauty of your kingdom right here in the space before us, here on the dirt where we stand. God use us to help make that happen. Unleash your kingdom inside us to permeate this world we live in. God move us to be all in!
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
God give us the things we need today. Thank you for supplying our needs. Help us to live in the truth that you hold all we need for each and every day and all our worrying and fretting doesn’t do squat for us. We get so confused between our needs and wants and have to be reminded that you will meet all our needs. God, we want to live in the present and not miss today worrying about tomorrow. We long to live with you in the present, to attend to your promptings. God we want be present and responsive to all those around us. God help us to live in the moment
AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS
God we know we don’t deserve forgiveness, we know that it comes from your heart. God we can’t make things right. There is nothing we can do to tip the scale in our favor, to impress you somehow or force your hand. We can’t make some kind of deal and promise to never do it again. We are simply recipients of your love and mercy. God, your forgiveness amazes us, it gives us a new start again, and again and again and God, as we have received this, how can we not extend it to others. As crazy as it sounds we don’t. We still keep score, hold grudges, seek revenge and withhold forgiveness. We still want to make others pay, so God we are asking for your help. Somehow we have disconnected out relationship with you from our relationship with others and we need that reconnected. Flood us with an awareness of your forgiveness so that forgiving others becomes a way of life for us.
AND DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIEVER US FROM EVIL
God, we don’t want to go through trials. Please don’t lead us to where we get tempted, we do that enough on our own. God we know we are not all that strong and slip pretty easily. We are tempted by so many things: tempted where to put our trust, what to value, how to treat people, how to view ourselves. God there is so much temptation we need you every moment. And God every once in a while we are reminded that Evil is real, that Satan is real and despite our denials. He is real and out to destroy us and we need you to deliver us from his grip, a grip that takes so many forms, some of which are so subtle they catch us off guard.
FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM & THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER
You are the one in charge. You have all the power. All glory and credit belongs to you always and forever and that is completely the way we want it. God, we do not want any other kingdom, any other plan, no other power, no other God. It is you and you alone. Remind us of that when we get overwhelmed with this life you have given us and we lose perspective.
Amen