Do You Dare Pray the Lord’s Prayer?

            Quite a while ago I heard a teacher say something like this:  If we knew what we were asking when we pray the Lord’s prayer, we wouldn’t dare pray it!

            Let’s skip over the obvious “Thy will be done…” (note that it implies adding “in me”), and consider the phrase “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (or sins, or debts, whichever you prefer).

            The word “as” is the joker here.  It seems to me that it can have two meanings.  The first, and most obvious, is “in the same way that”.  So “Forgive us our sins in the same way that we forgive those who sin against us”?!!  I certainly don’t want THAT!  All too often, I’m not very forgiving.  So if this is the primary meaning, I’m asking God NOT to forgive my sins a goodly portion of the time.

            The other meaning that pops up for “as” is the word “because”.  “Forgive me my sins because I have already forgiven those who sin against me.”  But all too often, I haven’t.  So again, I’m asking God NOT to forgive my sins a goodly portion of the time.

            Further, in Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer [6:9-10], Jesus immediately follows it by saying, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

            So DO you dare pray the Lord’s Prayer?  Do you dare not to pray it?

            I’ll continue to pray it with fear and trembling, being aware of my shortcomings but also aware of God’s love and mercy.  And I expect that as I pray it with awareness of what I’m asking, I will gradually grow in my ability to forgive others.

Gary+