What if the Lord’s Prayer had been written by our contemporary American culture? I thought about that last week as I did “Dean Duty” at Camp Arcadia, leading Bible classes, preaching, etc. Amidst the work, I had time to think in a gorgeous setting on Lake Michigan.
The American version of the Lord’s Prayer might begin this way: “My Grandpa, rocking away time on a heavenly porch…” But Jesus didn’t teach us “my,” an individualistic, preoccupied with self, “it’s all about me” prayer. It’s “our” because this is our family prayer, the family of all who follow Jesus. We pray this prayer with one another and we pray the Lord’s Prayer for one another. It’s an intercessory prayer. Not “My Grandpa” but “Our Father…who art in heaven.” I hope that you had a good earthly father. If you did, he loved you, sometimes he disciplined you, and sometimes got you out of trouble you had gotten into. Our Father is involved and able to help us His children more than we can possibly know. Gramps may be rocking but not “Our Father who art in heaven!”
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