Praying the Lord’s Prayer, daily
An estimated 2 billion people pray or sing The Lord’s Prayer on Easter Sunday every year – almost a third of the world’s population.
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, this simple yet profound prayer was His response:
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.
Amen.
HOW TO PRAY THIS PRAYER, DAILY:
Try memorising these words and praying them each day emphasising a different line.
When you know it well, try rephrasing and personalising each line to relate to your life.
The Lord’s Prayer is also a powerful way to structure daily prayer – use its themes to worship the Lord; intercede for the world; petition Him with your needs; ask for forgiveness and forgive others; and to pray for self-control and protection.
PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER AT MIDDAY EACH DAY.
People across the globe set their alarms for midday. Wherever they are, whatever they’re doing, they commit to pause and pray this famous and ancient prayer.
Sometimes when your alarm goes off it’s inconvenient. In many ways that’s the whole point; we want our busyness to be rudely and regularly interrupted by a reminder of our deepest priorities.
As part of Jewish tradition Jesus would have paused at least three times a day to pray to his Father in Heaven. A rhythm like this can put you in some interesting situations. When that alarm goes off in a work meeting or in the middle of class lesson, saying the prayer becomes a challenge.
Try praying the Lord’s Prayer every day for a month and see how the themes and words grow in depth and meaning.
JOIN IN:
- Learn the prayer
- Set your alarm to 12.00pm each day
- Commit to pray
The aim is that one day on the hour, every hour, people in every time zone are praying the Lord’s Prayer.
While one nation sleeps, another is calling God’s Kingdom to earth.