ABCs

Like most people, we learned your ABCs when we were young. The alphabet provides the building blocks of the English language, and we needed to know the basics before we could spell any words. I’ll bet we all learned the alphabet using that song …

… you know, “A, B, C, D, E, F, G (pause), H, I, J, K, L-M-N-O-P (pause) …” and so on. we’ve sung it so many times, it’s automatic. It’s mechanical. We can sing it or hum it, without any thought or effort.

Everybody knows where to pause, where the inflections go, where to speed up. That song is ingrained in us so deeply, it is hard to even speak the letters from A to Z without following the same inflections and pauses of the song.

When we were young, we also learned the Lord’s Prayer. And just like the alphabet is the foundation of the English language, the prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13 summarizes the foundation of our faith. I learned something pretty close to the King James version:

Our Father which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen.

But after repeating the prayer so many times over a lifetime, has it become automatic and mechanical? Just like the ABC song, everybody knows where to pause, and can pray without thinking. Which begs the question – do we truly mean what we are praying? Do the words have any impact on us?

If we continually worry about things here on Earth, why do we pray to our Father who is in heaven? (Our Father which art in heaven)

If we use God’s name negatively, why are we saying his name is sacred? (hallowed be thy name)

If we get fearful when hearing about Biblical prophecy and the end times, why are we asking Jesus to return? (Thy kingdom come)

If we insist on blazing our own path without considering God, why tell him to do what he thinks best, both here and in the afterlife? (thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven)

If we believe we provide for ourselves, why bother asking him to sustain us each day? (Give us this day our daily bread)

If we easily anger and think about revenge, why do we ask God to treat us the same way? (forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors)

If we believe our troubles are God’s fault, why bother asking him to keep us out of those troubles? (And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil)

If we want control of our lives (and who doesn’t?), why bother stating he is in charge, right up until the end of time? (For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever)

Personally, I realized my prayer was mechanical and unthinking when I fell asleep somewhere between “daily bread” and “debtors” each night. Unfortunately, that realization didn’t occur until the next morning, if at all.

The Lord’s prayer is a powerful reminder of where our focus and attitudes should be aligned. So think about its true meaning, and pray it today with renewed emphasis because of your understanding in the grace and love and forgiveness God has promised us through our belief in Jesus. Put the words into practice so they become the ABCs of faith.

Pray it with adoration. Pray it with urgency. Pray it with conviction.

And above all, mean it.

When did you understand the true meaning of the Lord’s Prayer?