More in: Spiritual Formation

All articles in: Spiritual Formation

Praying the way Jesus prayed

Spiritual Formation: Georges Boujakly
Sunday, January 1, 2006

I would like to begin a series of articles on the Lord's Prayer. Twenty years ago, I heard a call to become a person of prayer. Heeding that call has been a joy and a struggle. Prayer demands our efforts, our trust, and much of our attention. In return it enables us to live by faith, in hope, and in love with God and others.

Jesus prayed all the time. Early in the morning he found a quiet place and had conversations with his Abba. At mealtime, he gave thanks. Occasionally, he watched the dusk change into dawn in prayer. He prayed without ceasing, a privilege we are told to work out in our lives.

One prayer Jesus prayed daily was the Khaddish. Every faithful Jewish believer prayed it several times daily. It went like this: "Magnified and sanctified be his great name in the world he created according to his will. May he establish his kingdom during your life and during your days, and during the life of all the house of Israel, speedily and in the near future! And say Amen." * Does this sound familiar? Jesus modified the Khaddish and made it the church's prayer. It concerns the church's relationship with Our Father. Jesus also cared greatly about our relationship with others. He adds petitions like: Give us bread... forgive us sins ... and lead us not to temptation... deliver us...The first part of the Lord's Prayer has to do with loving God kinds of petitions; the second part with loving neighbor petitions.

The disciples noticed the way our Master prayed. It was attractive. What he prayed was not vain repetition. He prayed from the heart. They asked to be able to have a prayer life like his. In answer Jesus taught them to repeat or say the prayer (Luke 11:2). Yes! I said repeat since this is what Jesus did daily (See Psalm 119:164). Mouthing words without focused attention on the One we pray to is fruitless, boring, and even harmful. But repetition of a different kind is not impossible. How can we pray for daily bread other than daily? Do we need forgiveness daily or not? Do we need protection from the evil one and temptation occasionally? Is God's name to be honored rarely? Should we ever stop being respectful of God's name? When is a good time not to pray for God's will and God's kingdom to finally come? Praying with attention on Abba is never vain.

The Lord's Prayer is to be part of our life always, for it is the prayer for life in the Kingdom of God. Daily prayers are part of every world religion. The Lord's Prayer is the signature prayer of Christianity. We would do well to lift it up as our Christian life in miniature, as often as we meet, along with other spontaneous prayers. The Lord's Prayer has been part of my life for a long time. I hope it will become part of yours for years to come. I will say more on the Lord's Prayer for months to come. Meanwhile if you don't know it by heart, learn it. Meditation works best with memorization.

  • See The Jesus Creed by Scott McKnight.