This morning my team walked into a 5th grade classroom in Huanuco, Peru, to teach an English Lesson.
Eager to show us what English they knew, the kids began reciting:
Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from Evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
For ever and ever,
Amen
This Prayer. I grew up reciting it. I have no recollection of learning it, it seems I’ve always known it. It was part of church every Sunday. Sometimes we prayed it at home. It became routine. Not something I thought much about, just something I said to God. This morning, however, while I listened to those kids with a huge smile on my face, it struck me how meaningful this prayer really is. I mean really, it covers everything. There is a reason why, in Matthew 6, Jesus gave this to us as a template for prayer.
Our Father who art in Heaven
God is our Father in Heaven. We are his children. He loves us, wants the best for us, and is always looking out for us. That is beautiful knowledge to have.
Hallowed be thy Name.
His Name is the Name above all names! There is power in the Name of Jesus!
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
We want the kingdom of God to be on Earth as it is in Heaven, all of creation recognizing their Creator and Savior. This is probably the deepest reason behind why I’m doing the World Race.
Give us this day our daily bread,
God will always provide what we need, we only need to ask, and trust him. I am still in awe of how he provided the money for me to get to to the Race! Then there are all the other ways I have seen him provide for me and others over the past two months. Our last travel day was something else, and God provided exactly what we needed when we were stuck on a sidewalk with all our stuff and not sure what to do, but that’s another blog. . .
And forgive us our sins,
God is merciful and forgives ever single wrong thing we ever do. We only need to repent and ask him for that forgiveness. He holds nothing over our heads. That’s why Jesus died on the cross, to cover it all. There is no shame in Jesus Christ!
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Jesus forgives us for everything, so of course we should forgive others! Yes, sometimes that is much easier said than done. Thankfully we can take it to God and ask him to help us forgive and let go of bitterness and anger.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.
Oh, temptation, it’s everywhere. Even Jesus faced temptation (Matthew 4), so asking God to deliver us from temptations to sin is just smart. He is, after all, bigger than any temptation, and can deliver us from any evil. Jesus is more powerful than the Devil!
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
This Earth is God’s. Every nation on Earth is beneath him. He holds all the power, and we should Glorify him. He’s God. Our Creator. Our Father. Our Savior. He deserves it.
Amen.
I loved getting to hear the students recite this prayer. It was wonderful to get to stop and really think about what the Lord’s Prayer means, why Jesus gave it to us as a template for our prayers, and then sincerely pray it myself. Now my prayer is that those kids who recited it for us today come to understand the meaning of it for themselves, and grow in relationship with their Heavenly Father.
This month my team is working with a church, doing all sorts of things. This week we are going to different schools to help the students practice the English they have been learning, teach them a little more, and share about Jesus as the opportunity arises. Next week will hold more of the same along with some street ministry and even some prison ministry! It promises to be a full month! Please pray that my team will have good health (the past few days haven’t been so great there), and that God will give us the words to say as we tell others about him.
