PRAYING FOR GOD’S
REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS
It took longer
than I hoped for me to figure out the theme for this Lenten prayer guide: The
Lord’s Prayer (The “Our Father” for some).
I hope, over the forty days of Lent, to find that this decision was the
movement of the Spirit and not a fool’s errand.
Most of us pray
this prayer at least weekly. Some pray
it daily and even many times each day.
This prayer has been such a part of our hearts and minds that many of us
can pray it without thinking. Because we
can do that, we may miss some of the broader implications of the prayer.
These prayers are an attempt to pray along with the most significant prayer we
know. They are not meant to supplant the
prayer Jesus taught his disciples, but to deepen our understanding and practice
of that prayer.
The Lord’s prayer
is typically considered an address (“Our Father”) followed by seven
petitions. My plan (since I have only a
few prayers written at this point), is to do one prayer each for the address:
“Our father,” and for each of the seven petitions. That means that within the 40 days of Lent
(Sunday’s don’t count), there will be five cycles through the prayer.
However, I hope
that You will pray the Lord’s prayer at least once each day, and that You will
look for versions other than the one with which you are most familiar. I particularly encourage you to look for
other versions on Sundays.
I typically write
these Lenten prayers in the first person plural (“our,” “we,” “us”) because I
believe we are commonly praying with the larger church. This seems essential, not optional, with the
prayer of our Savior.
NOTE: The Bible uses a number of feminine images for God and
so I address God, in these prayers, as both Father and Mother.
Introduction to
week one
Jesus taught this
prayer in the context of his message about the nearness of God’s reign, and as
part of his movement to renew Israel.
When we pray this prayer, we are praying, in a significant sense, as
Israel renewed and expanded to welcome people of enormous diversity to share a
life of glad obedience that issues in widespread peace and justice.
DAY 1: ASH WEDNESDAY
God our Father
and Mother, Creator of the universe and all things in it, we rejoice in
You. As we address You in your unseen
realm—in your transcendence—we call upon You, at the same time, as One who is
nearer than our own breath or thoughts, as One who has drawn near in Christ
Jesus, as One who creates and welcomes intimacy with us.
We do not call on
an impersonal force, but upon You who remain near and act with inconceivable
compassion and generosity to us. You
have birthed, nursed, cradled, weaned, nurtured, instructed, commanded,
disciplined, counseled, embraced, comforted, led, sustained, inspired and
energized us. You have rejoiced over us
with such gladness that we have wept tears of joy.
You have loved us
without measure, so we love You with all that we are. Amen.
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