Lord's Prayer Study

This is a study piece that CSMSG's mission trip crew used to pray through the trip to West Virginia this summer. We provided a series of blog posts and a paper journal and had the students think about each daily theme and their own gifts and callings as part of our prep.

Read the Lord's Prayer below very carefully. In fact, don't just read it; pray it.
Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.

Now read it again, looking very carefully at the words I've capitalized. I've also added a word in a few places to show the subject of the sentence, in good English-class style.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be YOUR name
YOUR kingdom come
YOUR will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
(YOU) Give us today our daily bread
(YOU) Forgive us our trespasses,
as WE forgive those who trespass against us.
(YOU) lead us not into temptation,
But (YOU) deliver us from evil.
For YOURS is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, now and forever. Amen.

The only time WE are the active players in this prayer is when we are forgiving. In all the other petitions, we are saying that God is responsible for all the things we ask. We are trusting him to be powerful enough to provide them, and loving enough to walk with us while we use them. Nowhere does the prayer say that WE provide anything for ourselves, or protect ourselves, or save ourselves, or that WE deserve to be honored.

On the mission trip, one of our daily themes is Humility. The verse that goes with it is Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

To practice humility in the weeks leading up to the mission trip, make a habit of saying the Lord's Prayer; when we know what we're saying and mean these words, we put ourselves in the humble position where God can use us the most-- when we know it's His power, not ours, that works in us.