Christ Jesus was known by His disciples as a person who took time to pray...consistently. One day, while walking together, they asked Him: "Would You teach us how to pray?"
This prayer Christ Jesus conveyed has become the very anchor of prayer within Christianity. This entire concept of man himself being given specific instruction on how to communicate with God, how to actually talk with Him, how to actually contact Him, might go down as the greatest discovery known to man. Yet, is it really possible to open the doors of communication with God? It reminds me of a scy-fy movie with humans trying to establish communication with aliens. And in this scenario, in the first century C.E., Christ Jesus comes to us like a magical lost key, an unknown code, a discovery of a secret door in the universe that enables man to not only make contact with God, but to actually speak to Him, with the excitement that this God...will respond!
As the disciples got to know Jesus during His time here on earth, not only did they notice Jesus praying consistently, it was the very thing they noticed Him doing the most. Yes, there were miracles being performed, confrontations like with the Pharisees which Jesus never back downed, startling conversations that revealed who He is, and teachings that were contrary at times to how man had been taught. Still, almost daily He was always wondering off to a getaway spot, to speak with His Father alone. It was clear to His disciples how important this was to Christ Jesus.
As His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray like He does, it is the only recorded time in the Sacred Scriptures the disciples collectively asked Jesus "how to do something." As I contemplate this, it makes me wonder of all the questions they could have asked Him as a group, those deep curiosities like "Why do people suffer?" or "Why is there so many religions that teach their way is the only way to God?" Yet, the question they sought most to be answered: "How can we pray like You do? Would You teach us?"
The Lord's Prayer is found in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6: 9-13. The prayer recorded in Matthew is a little more familiar to those who have been involved in western Christianity, so I will use this passage to investigate why this prayer has become of such prominence in the Christian faith.
Keep in mind Matthew's gospel is geared more toward Hebrews who had committed their lives to Christ while Luke wrote with a Gentile heart and conveyed the message of Christ to those outside the Jewish faith.
For a long time I did not like the Lord's Prayer because I felt it was just a vain repetition to somehow get this big God of the universe to like us, I even prayed to God and said Jesus teaching to the disciples on how to pray backfired, and has become nothing more than a part of "wishful" Christianity. The Lord's Prayer to me was nothing more than reciting a charm that I would see when witches in a movie would speak some magical words and suddenly everything changed. Then one day it came to me: "Do I think it is important to read and understand the Scripture? I thought yes, yes I do. Is the Lord's Prayer a scripture reading? Well, yes, yes it is. So, what is my problem reciting this passage of Scripture?" It created a new understanding to this topic of "The Lord's Prayer."
I am going to take some time and go through this famous prayer: why Jesus said it, what is its purpose, what am I suppose to do with this, and what was His motive behind sharing this with His disciples.
Here is the setting. Jesus is involved with His "Sermon on the Mount" series. Many historians think this event happened around 30 C.E. They also think He taught them how to pray on a large hill just north of the Sea of Galilee. There was a large gathering there including 5000 men and their families. They had come to hear Jesus speak on a number of issues and Saint Matthew is thought to have recorded this event around 37 C.E. The surrounding hills where Jesus was at is a natural amphitheatre. A test recently was performed in this location and was found a person's voice could carry over 200 yards ( the length of 2 football fields) with such a clarity one would think the one doing the speaking was right next to you.
Yet Jesus had called His disciples to the side to address the question they had asked Him, and began saying: "Our Father, who is in Heaven...."
This prayer Christ Jesus conveyed has become the very anchor of prayer within Christianity. This entire concept of man himself being given specific instruction on how to communicate with God, how to actually talk with Him, how to actually contact Him, might go down as the greatest discovery known to man. Yet, is it really possible to open the doors of communication with God? It reminds me of a scy-fy movie with humans trying to establish communication with aliens. And in this scenario, in the first century C.E., Christ Jesus comes to us like a magical lost key, an unknown code, a discovery of a secret door in the universe that enables man to not only make contact with God, but to actually speak to Him, with the excitement that this God...will respond!
As the disciples got to know Jesus during His time here on earth, not only did they notice Jesus praying consistently, it was the very thing they noticed Him doing the most. Yes, there were miracles being performed, confrontations like with the Pharisees which Jesus never back downed, startling conversations that revealed who He is, and teachings that were contrary at times to how man had been taught. Still, almost daily He was always wondering off to a getaway spot, to speak with His Father alone. It was clear to His disciples how important this was to Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Prayer is found in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6: 9-13. The prayer recorded in Matthew is a little more familiar to those who have been involved in western Christianity, so I will use this passage to investigate why this prayer has become of such prominence in the Christian faith.
Keep in mind Matthew's gospel is geared more toward Hebrews who had committed their lives to Christ while Luke wrote with a Gentile heart and conveyed the message of Christ to those outside the Jewish faith.
For a long time I did not like the Lord's Prayer because I felt it was just a vain repetition to somehow get this big God of the universe to like us, I even prayed to God and said Jesus teaching to the disciples on how to pray backfired, and has become nothing more than a part of "wishful" Christianity. The Lord's Prayer to me was nothing more than reciting a charm that I would see when witches in a movie would speak some magical words and suddenly everything changed. Then one day it came to me: "Do I think it is important to read and understand the Scripture? I thought yes, yes I do. Is the Lord's Prayer a scripture reading? Well, yes, yes it is. So, what is my problem reciting this passage of Scripture?" It created a new understanding to this topic of "The Lord's Prayer."
I am going to take some time and go through this famous prayer: why Jesus said it, what is its purpose, what am I suppose to do with this, and what was His motive behind sharing this with His disciples.
Here is the setting. Jesus is involved with His "Sermon on the Mount" series. Many historians think this event happened around 30 C.E. They also think He taught them how to pray on a large hill just north of the Sea of Galilee. There was a large gathering there including 5000 men and their families. They had come to hear Jesus speak on a number of issues and Saint Matthew is thought to have recorded this event around 37 C.E. The surrounding hills where Jesus was at is a natural amphitheatre. A test recently was performed in this location and was found a person's voice could carry over 200 yards ( the length of 2 football fields) with such a clarity one would think the one doing the speaking was right next to you.
Yet Jesus had called His disciples to the side to address the question they had asked Him, and began saying: "Our Father, who is in Heaven...."
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