The Lord’s prayer is such a complete and yet mysterious prayer. I feel trepidation even approaching such a lofty prayer, the sacred of sacred, personally handed to us by our Savior. Yet, billions of Christians feel drawn, rightly so, to this prayer that Christ gave us.I end my meditations and daily prayers with the Lord’s prayer. It feels complete and the perfect closing to end with each day.
One thing I personally love about this prayer is that it speaks to so many levels and parts of our own being. Sometimes, I have envisioned it as going through the chakras, starting with the basic invitation to Our Father, who is so much greater than we are, and to whom we can express our reverence in His hallowed name.Then there is the giving up or emptying of our own being, handing our finite wisdom over to infinite wisdom — “Thy will be done”.
There is the foundational place, or first chakra, of asking simply for our basic material needs, our daily bread. I feel the prayer moving into my mid section as I say “forgive us our tresspasses”. I liken this to the second chakra and third chakra, where action begins to come forth from our being. The mid center where when someone does trespass against us it is almost as “punch to the gut”. In these words we release that space in our being, to not hold onto our own volition, nor that which may confront us.
Next I feel the prayer move to the heart — “Lead us not into temptation”. This feels like a heart examination: the heart can inform, and be pure in intention, and yet the same heart can twist, turn, and deceive when discernment is not carefully examined. Asking for aid here seems a good thing to do. Perhaps it is reassuring to know that we have help in this area that can be a trickster if we are not careful.
The next phrase “deliver us from evil” for me moves into my throat. I proclaim this powerful idea, and yet don’t know exactly what it means. What exactly is this evil? Is it different evils for different people, or one big category of evil to be avoided at all costs?
Next, the prayer moves to my head, my mind, closer to the heavens as I declare boldly, “Thine is the power, the kingdom and glory forever and ever.”
The prayer seems to move through the body, going from the earthly realms to the heavenly realms. What remains though is still a mystery. Trying to understand exactly how this deliverance takes place and what exactly happens in the realm of the unseen is beyond our reason, and yet we come back to this prayer in confidence, knowing its power even if understanding it fully remains hidden, as it were, in a veil.
The Lord’s prayer almost contains the Christian experience within it. We ask in confidence knowing we will receive; we pray knowing we are heard. Still, exactly how these things happen remains unclear. Is it really that simple that we do the practice and we know the fruits? As with faith, this seems to be the formula: do now, understand later, not through the intellect but through the held experience. It is a beautiful and mysterious power this prayer holds.
I know that different people have a different relationship to this prayer, but there is no doubt that people do have both a desire towards and a relationship with this prayer. Even the children rejoice in it as a prayer they can memorize fairly easily and recite in fellowship with other practitioners.
Just another perfect mystery from our Savior leading the way in perfection and speaking to the many through this one prayer — this prayer that unites in our beliefs and yet can be so deeply personal to the individual.
