We are here to help people love and worship God. We aim to be, and encourage others to become, committed and active disciples of Jesus,
who love God and worship him, who know the power of the Holy Spirit and who show God’s love in every part of their lives.
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope
and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
‘The New Zealand, Anglican, Lord's Prayer’, The New Zealand Book of Prayer | He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa
© the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
It is always a huge moment of triumph and wonder, when our ancient prayers and scriptures are successfully translated for, and made available in, different languages and cultures. It is some small wonder then, that the form we continue to use most commonly for the Lord’s Prayer – the prayer that Jesus taught us (and so arguably one of the most important one’s we have) – is based on the King James version (first published in the early-seventeenth century). I don’t mean any disrespect to our historic, inherited versions of scripture and liturgical traditions (they are indeed very precious), but I have known more than one person who finds the Lord’s Prayer confused and alienating, precisely because the archaic form of language being employed is actually hindering understanding – which, considering Jesus’ particular concern that we shouldn’t babble our prayers, but mean what we pray, and take the words to our hearts, is a little troubling if you think about it.
Jesus suggests that, when we pray, our words should be few, humble and honest – it should feel like sitting alone with God in our living room: the Lord’s Prayer actually builds on an ancient, Aramaic Jewish prayer, called the Kaddish, which focuses on blessing, praising and magnifying God. The immediate difference is that Jesus changes the words from a 3rd person appeal, for the benefit of God’s Chosen People, to a personal, 1st person, prayer to ‘Abba’ – meaning ‘Daddy’. The prayer is, first and foremost, a prayer of intimacy with the God who loves us with the unfailing love of a parent, who carries us.
When we draw closer to understanding the language and meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, we find that it is a prayer which seeks to restore the personal relationship with God, to which we have always been called; to see more of the fullness of God’s kingdom in our lives; to receive all that we need (and not more) for this day; to be kept from being overcome by trials and protected from all that is evil in this world – free to seek God’s ways in our world. Like most prayers, there is also a transformational element for us; it is a prayer that magnifies God – rather than trying to impress others – and hopes for us to become a people who fulfil the Great Commandment; to ‘love God, and others as ourselves’.
Rev’d Sam Ellmore, curate
St Mary's Church, Priory Road, Ecclesfield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 9XZ, United Kingdom
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The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish St Marys Ecclesfield - Charity Commission Reg. No. 1144309
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