Teach us How To Pray

  • July 28, 2013

Do yLords_Prayer_Aramaicou pray? How do you pray?

In Luke’s gospel, the disciples come to Jesus with a simple request: Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus replies with these words: When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”  (Luke 11:1-4)

Many books have been written on this prayer, which is recorded in a slightly different version in the gospel of Matthew. Each word, each phrase, has been pulled apart and put back together, to try to get at just what Jesus was saying. What does this prayer mean to you? What part of it seems most important today? What can it teach us about how to pray?