The Model Prayer (Session 2)
Our
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ Matthew 6:9-13
Episode Summary
In this episode of Year on the Mountaintop, we begin the Lord’s Prayer with a single, seemingly simple word: “Our.” Jesus immediately shifts prayer away from individualism and toward community, reminding us that God is not simply “my” God but the God who binds us together as a family. What does it mean for our prayers to include not only our own needs, but the needs of our neighbors, our churches, and the wider world?
As we explore the first word of the Lord’s Prayer, we’ll consider communal prayer, the contrast between Jesus’ teaching and self-centered religious performance, and the relationship between prayer and action. The word “Our” invites us to see prayer as something we do with and for others—and challenges us to become part of the answer to the prayers we pray.
