“Our Father….” (Mt 6:9)
Praying is a great reminder that our relationship with God is not only personal, but that it’s also communal. As we examine the Lord’s Prayer it’s impossible not to notice that it was given to the followers of Jesus in the plural voice. This can only mean that as we pray we do so in communion with millions of believers, over the centuries and around the world, who long for God’s kingdom to be established here on earth.
When we pray “Our Father” we join a concert of unselfish praying voices who passionately embrace the Father’s desire of reconciling the world to himself through Jesus Christ. Moreover, everytime we pray “Our Father” we take the opportunity to join in fellowship with our family in Christ to adore, encourage, intercede for one another, and to engage in spiritual warfare as a unit.
As you can see, the Lord’s prayer is not an individualistic prayer but a corporate prayer. Certainly, the Lord’s Prayer can be used and applied in our personal conversations with our Father, but we must keep in mind that it’s meant to teach us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. The Lord’s prayer reminds us that we belong to the Body of Christ, the Church.
For that reason when we pray we don’t do it only on our behalf, but on behalf of the family of God, saying: “Our Father in heaven, please give us our daily bread. Our Father in heaven, please forgive us our debts. Our Father in heaven, please lead us not into temptation. And, Our Father in heaven, please deliver us from the evil one.”
As children of our heavenly Father we’ll do good in memorizing, repeating, and using the Lord’s Prayer as a model prayer, but let’s not forget to live it out as the people of God, for we are in this together.
Pastor Esteban Tapia