Whatever happened to the Lord's Prayer?

Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” Matthew 6:9

Perhaps it’s just me, and the very limited circles I move in, but over the last year or two I have found myself asking more and more: What has happened to the Lord’s prayer?

There was a time when it figured in just about any service you ever went to. But not any more. And I find myself asking why. Matthew’s Gospel, after all, tells us that Jesus introduced it with the words, “This is how you should pray…”

I understand, of course, that that doesn’t mean it’s the only prayer Christians should ever pray - that would be absurd. Nor that is has to be prayed in any and every gathering. That, I suppose, is what happened in various traditions - with the result that it easily became routine and mechanical, what used to be called “vain repetition”.

Yes. In the same passage in Matthew Jesus warns his followers against “babbling like pagans”, and I for one can remember times when that seemed to be exactly what was going on. Repetition, which we all need to some extent when we pray, can easily become “paganish”, even superstitious (think of the way we frequently tag on “in Jesus’ name” before we say “Amen”, as if without it it’s somehow not a “proper” prayer).

That’s all fine. But Jesus did, presumably, expect his followers to adopt this form of words as a staple of prayer. And he seems to have intended it to be used in corporate gatherings, not just in our private prayers: it’s a “we” prayer, not an “I” prayer. God is “our Father”; we pray that he will “give us today our daily bread” and that he will “forgive us our debts” – and so on. It often used to be introduced as “the prayer Jesus taught us to pray”, or “the family prayer”, both of which can be justified.

So… while I fully agree with a move away from any kind of ritualism, I find all this genuinely puzzling, this shift from “virtually always” the Lord’s prayer to “hardly ever” the Lord’s prayer.

I do have a theory, though, which may of course be completely wrong (please let me know if you think so)…

Some churches, I suspect, are simply unhappy with any hint of planning and preparation. I spoke to a man once whose church was very much in the charismatic mould, and he told me that the worship there was “Spirit-led”. By which he meant: no particular individual controlled what went on.

I enquired if that meant that a carefully prepared sermon or prayer could not also be Spirit-led? May the Spirit not be at work in the person with the task of preparing the worship in advance?

In a word, is it right to equate “Spirit-led” with “spontaneous”? Surely this is a mistake?

He got my point (or was he just being polite?) and conceded that his use of the expression Spirit-led was loose and careless.

We must all agree, surely, that Spirit-led spontaneity is a great thing (with Whitsun, the celebration of the Holy Spirit, just round the corner, oh for a bit more of it!). But too often, I fear, what it amounts to in practice is little more than a free-for-all for anyone who feels inclined to take advantage of the liberty that’s on offer. Sometimes when I hear people pray spontaneously - including myself of course - I wonder if God is up there in heaven thinking, “I do love these dear people, but, oh dear, they really do prattle on…!”

Jesus gave us a clear, structured (and very short! – let’s notice that) prayer. And he warned us about thinking we might be heard “because of our many words” (Matthew 6:7).

It’s not just prayer but worship in general. The fact is that something  concise, structured and well-crafted can add dignity and gravity to the proceedings: it enhances that sense of worshipping the Lord “in the beauty of holiness”, and often captures in a few words a mood or sense we all have but find it hard to articulate.

So, a few suggestions…

Use the Lord’s prayer thoughtfully and frequently, but not as a mechanical routine.

Use a modern translation (there’s no reason why the King James version has to be clung to for just this one bit of the Bible!).

Invite the congregation to pray it slowly, and set an appropriate lead.

Introduce it with a reminder of its basic meaning: get people to focus on the words.

At the end, don’t rush on to whatever comes next, but give it time to “breathe”, with a few moments of silence.

And (here’s a thought that’s only just occurred to me!) why not pause for an “Amen” at the end of each clause…

Our Father in heaven, may your holy name be honoured… Amen! May your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as in heaven… Amen. Give us today the food we need… Amen. Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs others have done to us… Amen. Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the evil one... Amen. For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory... Amen. Amen. And Amen!