More than a Prayer...

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

If you have been to worship at a Christian church at any point in your life, you have likely heard these words. These words make up what we call the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples when they asked Jesus how to pray. These, or a variation of them, are the words Jesus gave us.

The last 6 weeks, Wednesday night bible study has been exploring “The Lord’s Prayer” in deeper ways. We dove deep into each line of the prayer, talking about what they mean. But more importantly, we talked about how we might live into this prayer.

During that study, Adam Hamilton introduced to us the Latin phrase ora et labora, meaning “pray and work.” He says that ora et labora, “captures the idea that prayer serves to move our hearts and to empower and lead us to action.”[1] So then, the Lord’s Prayer is not just a prayer, but a blueprint on how to live a faithful life- the way Jesus taught.

We went into a lot of details throughout the last six weeks, praying this prayer daily to allow it to shape our thoughts and our actions. In our final session together, we took the time to create a rough list of things that the prayer says followers of Jesus are to do. I encourage you to read this list, use it even, and allow what Jesus taught to change your heart.

  • Remember we are all children of God

  • Look for God in the very air we breathe

  • Treat God’s name as holy, meaning as reflections of God our actions must also be holy!

  • Remember this is God’s creation and everything in it belongs to God

  • Listen for what God needs done in the world

  • DO what God needs done in the world

  • Repent- Seek forgiveness and change our ways

  • Forgive others

  • Allow God to lead!

  • Name what is tempting and ask for God to help you resist it

  • Acknowledge the voice inside that can lead us to evil things

  • Be humble

  • Remember that everything comes from and belongs to God

Comment your thoughts below!

Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole


[1] Hamilton, Adam. The Lord’s Prayer: the Meaning and Power of the Prayer Jesus Taught. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2021) XVII.