Faith Formation: Knocking on Jesus’ Door with The Lord’s Prayer

Knocking on Jesus’ Door with The Lord’s Prayer

  

As mentioned before, Pope Francis stated, “Praying means knocking at the door of a friend.  God is our friend”. This is especially true when we pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”). This prayer takes a mere 15-20 seconds to recite, yet is filled with deep meaning. This prayer perfectly summarizes our faith and what is expressed in the Gospels.

Most Catholics have recited this prayer hundreds or even thousands of times, however they have never thought about the true meaning of each line. It’s important to remind ourselves to stop and reflect on the words we are saying. I have taken a closer look at the Lord's Prayer line by line below to help people better understand its true purpose.

Our Father, who art in heaven:
Through love of the world around us, as well as in our concerns for all creatures, our respect for others.

Hallowed be thy name:
At our work and in our classrooms and in our homes, in the decisions of business-people, politicians, church leaders.  

Thy kingdom come:
By seeking your guidance, by keeping your commandments, by our obedience to the call of your love. 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven:
For the millions who live in poverty and hunger, for our own needs, and the requirements of our neighbours,
by cooperation, sympathy and generosity.  

Give us this day our daily bread:
Because we have broken your commandments, doing what we ought not to do, and neglecting what we ought to do.  

And forgive us our trespasses:
If any have injured us, by angry words or harmful deeds, by injustice, or exploitation.  

As we forgive those who trespass against us:
When we think of doing to others what we would dislike them to do to us, when prosperity lulls us into false security, or adversity prompts us to despair, when success makes us boastful, or failure makes us bitter.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil:
In the assurance of faith, in the confidence of hope, in the will to serve, help us to love Christ as Lord, and our neighbours as ourselves. Amen.

There are many moving prayers that we can say, but when it comes to one prayer that takes the main aspects of our faith and summarizes them in several short lines, the Our Father is the perfect prayer.