I did not pay particular attention to certain details. I remembered vividly my teacher’s admonition: always make it a duty to look up obvious words or terms because they are veritable banana peelings.

With Rabbi Gellman’s analysis of Psalm 23 in mind, I thumbed through The Lord’s Prayer. I would share with you line by line what I discovered.

Our Father who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name

We acknowledge the oneness of God and his fatherly qualities. A child runs to the father when in trouble. In kindergarten I used to believe that my father was the most powerful man on earth. It is a statement of glorification and acknowledgement of God’s sacred nature. It is also a statement of God’s righteousness.

Thy kingdom come

We are living witnesses of God’s kingdom through his son Jesus Christ. This is the most powerful statement of hope. Nothing keeps a man going than hope. What gives this statement punch is the fact that this kingdom is not of this world.   

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

This statement brings out four essential points: God’s will or our free will that is at the centre of a great theological debate, unity of action on earth and in heaven, doing God’s bidding and God’s path is the best.  

Give us this day our daily bread

God’s word is life-saving food. God is also the provider of all that we need to sustain life here on earth or make the world a better place. A child knows that the father is the number one provider of all his needs. The bases of my spirituality were laid by my parents. We are helpless without God. 

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

God is merciful, all-forgiving, patient and compassionate. As God forgives our sins so we must also reciprocate by forgiving our brothers and sisters. When we do not show mercy to others God pours his wrath on us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

We should always be on the lookout in case we falter and derail from God’s path. In this effort we have to implore God’s help. There is the devil that tempts us just as Christ was tempted. In order to overcome temptation/evil we must lead a life of prayer.

Prayer is the antidote. Life is a battle between good and evil. We cannot resist temptation/evil on our own. Temptation is not a sin; it becomes a sin when we yield to it.  Temptation is placing the best of human intentions and good over God’s plan.  

Victor Hoagland, C.P. states that “The Lord’s Prayer sums up the teaching of Jesus. It is also a prayer that offers the grace of Jesus: his reverence for God, his childlike confidence in his Father, and his power to go bravely through life no matter what comes.

When we pray his prayer, his spirit becomes our own “. Let’s always remember to pray The Lord’s Prayer. It is the most comprehensive of prayers.