The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6.9-13 K.J.V.

After this manner pray ye: 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.


    There is no more common prayer throughout Christendom than what is traditionally called “The Lord’s Prayer”. I had to come to some understanding and tolerance regarding this prayer if I was to wholly participate in any group’s prayer. Thus, I had to look at it closely in order to ascribe to it some of my beliefs that are compatible without sapping this wonderful prayer of its power. This is not an impossible task. What does Our Father mean to me? Is he merely the angry voice we hear outside of the comfort of the womb?

    God as our father is the aspect of paternity that relates to God as being a provider of our needs. As it is seemingly separate from being called our nurturing Mother, the father’s role is still important to the family. Most of us have had a mother or father at one time and, traditionally, the father’s love is expressed by protecting, disciplining and providing for us. The mother’s role has been (up ‘til the late twentieth century) to nurture and comfort us by creating a safe and warm environment... preparing and cooking of what the father provides and making a home of for us to abide in: Father sky (in heaven) and Mother earth (our home). Protecting, disciplining and providing for us prepares us for a life after we leave the nest and his sometimes harsh instruction is best tempered by the nurturing and gentle instruction by example of the Mother principle. The Lord’s Prayer is not a prayer to Our Mother. That prayer would go differently. But it ought not to be excluded because we all have impossible needs to be met. And, of course, we all ought to express gratitude for the nurturing and comfort Our Mother provides but the "Our Father" is a prayer of entreaty: we ask dad for help.  A prayer to God as Our Mother would be a prayer of gratitude... she provides, instructs and protects too. An ideal family has both; a union of “earth as it is in heaven.” If we are, indeed, brothers and sisters, we have both a father and a mother in God.

geo 4,853