For the last few weeks, Woodland United Methodist Church has been journeying through the Lord’s Prayer as part of our Sunday preaching series.

As Methodists, we pray it every Sunday as part of our tradition. I know many other faith traditions do this as well. Below is the Lord’s prayer that we pray each week.

“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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the Glory, forever. Amen.”

The challenge for us is to consider whether we are really praying the prayer each week or are we just saying the prayer. Worshipping God or going through the motions. As part of this Journey, I penned The Lord’s Prayer in my own words. This was not redoing scripture or what Jesus taught us to prayer. No, it was simply thinking more deeply about those words and, in a spiritual act, exploring the deeper meaning of each part of the prayer.

I have even been encouraging our church members to participate in this redux on as part of their own faith journey. Below is the prayer I came up with. I pray it can be a blessing to you. I might even encourage you to do the same. Write what the Lord’s prayer means to you.

God — our God, the God of all people, the God who is worshiped best in community. The God who is about us and our and not me and mine. You are our parent, the one who fathers and mothers. Who gives birth to life and love in and through me in this world? We are your children. All of us.

We acknowledge that you are vast and mighty, but close and present and loving and near. We want your name to ring out. We want to live in a way that draws people towards you and brings you Glory. That sets you apart for bringing abundant life to people.

We acknowledge that it is not about what we want or about us, but about you. You are Lord of our lives and it is about you and your desires, not me and mine. God would your kingdom come to this earth here and now. Would you break in and would you call me to this work, to be part of bringing your life into this world?

God, we pray for bread. For that which we need to be sustained on a daily basis. This is our never-ending need. We pray for actual food and nourishment, not only for ourselves but for this world. God use us to feed this world, to break down systems and structures that cause people to go hungry. To be fed and to feed.

God give us that bread that is more than what we eat. That life-sustaining love, mercy, and grace that comes from you. Help us to feast upon it and to be filled to overflowing in such a way that we might do your will in this world. God, may our beloved community be a source of this bread, this daily nourishment.

God, I acknowledge that I have fallen short. That I have missed the mark. I confess that I have done things I should not have done and that I have not done the things I should have. I need you to forgive me.

God there are people who have harmed me. You have shown me mercy and I need to show them mercy. I confess that this is not easy. Give me the strength and grace to forgive those who have harmed me. God there are a few harms that I just can’t let go of or forgive. At least not yet. Give me the strength and grace to begin a journey towards forgiving. Free me from these roots of bitterness. Cut them off and give me true freedom.

AND God, would you Lead US. Lead us to places far away from the temptations that lurk all around us. The temptations that rise up in us, that come from the world around us. God Lead us. Lead us to paths of righteousness. Lead us to love our neighbor. Lead us to speak up when we should, to stand up in the face of injustice and evil that exists all around us.

God would you also rush to our side. We so often find ourselves facing temptation. Facing the lies, the justifications, the desire to do what we shouldn’t and the desire to ignore the good we should. Run to us. Run to us when we are being pressed down by the evil of this world.

Lead us God, and when we can’t follow, rush to our side, scoop us up and free us from evil.

Lastly, God, would this life we lead be about you? May you be first in all things. We give you our allegiance above all things. Forgive us when we use our power to harm others. Forgive us when we stand by and allow injustice in this world. Would the power we have be used for you, and in such a way as to draw people to you? Might we participate in a conspiracy of goo?. May we live in such a way that we reflect your Glory, your majesty and your greatness?

Might these things we pray increase and grow as we are transformed more and more into your likeness.

MAY ALL THAT WE PRAY BE SO!