The Lord's Prayer - Ep 2

2026.06.18 Lord's Prayer Thursday

Today, and every Thursday during the summer, we will be doing a modified Lectio Divina exercise. Lectio Divina, which means sacred reading, is an ancient spiritual practice that trains us to hear God's voice through scripture. This summer, we soak in the Lord's Prayer, and today we set our thoughts on God as our Father.

We will read through the Lord's Prayer twice and will provide an insight into the meaning of the text before each reading. We will give space after each reading for you to consider what God might be saying to you through his word. We invite you to take a moment to quiet yourself before you begin.

Jesus opens his prayer by addressing God as our Father. So much meaning is packed into these first two words. Let's consider two insights for the moment.

First, Jesus does not say, my Father. He says, our Father. Immediately, Jesus prioritizes prayer as a communal practice.

When we pray together to our one Creator, we affirm our shared sibling bond in the Messiah. We are on this journey of life together. Second, Jesus addresses God as Father.

This strategic address evokes the shared memory of the Exodus event for his largely Jewish audience. It's the story of the Exodus that recounts the first time God is identified as the Father of the people of Israel, whom he has come to free from the house of slavery. When we address God as Father, we participate in that same Exodus story and legacy.

Calling God Father is an act of trust and hope that he will walk with us through the chaos of life and into freedom that only he can deliver. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. When we address God as our Father, we tap into a profound network of meaning.

We weave together the significance of community, God's fatherhood, Jesus' earthly mission and righteousness, and what that means for us. Just as God calls Israel his son for the first time in Exodus, in Matthew, the first time God calls Jesus his son was at his baptism in Matthew chapter 3. Jesus ritually washes in the same Jordan River that the Israelites crossed centuries prior when they entered the Promised Land. They were meant to occupy that land to be righteous priests to the nations, spreading the kingdom of God to the world.

But like ours, Israel's righteousness proved to be like filthy rags. So when Jesus, descendants of Abraham and the Son of God, washes in the Jordan, he's reclaiming Israel's original mission to the nations. His perfect righteousness extends to all who surrender to his kingship, and we become joint heirs with Jesus in the kingdom of our Father.

In other words, because of Jesus, his Father becomes our Father, and we inherit a righteous purpose as the communal body of the Messiah. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Our Father in the heavens, you are our faithful, loving, and righteous deliverer.

You do not stand far away, disinterested in our struggles, but if we're honest, sometimes it feels that way. It's not always easy to discern your parental care in our lives. So would you awaken our senses to your fatherly presence? Would you give us ears to hear your spirit groaning with us amid the pain in our world? Would you recharge our hope that you are at work among us? You have given us eternal purpose as your children.

May we honor you, our Father, by extending faith, love, and righteousness into the world. In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen.