Even at the best of times, prayer can be a struggle for many of us. In the current climate of uncertainty, it may be even more difficult. So many people have lost so much this year and unsurprisingly many ask where is God in all of this? And is God really listening to us? Yet prayer is one of the most powerful things we can do. In these troubled times, it takes on a new urgency and longing. Yet, we may still wonder if we pray enough? Or if there is anything more we can do to persuade God to hear us.

Even Jesus’s disciples struggled at times and asked ‘How do we pray?’ The answer came back to ‘keep it simple,’ and that the religiously pompous 'stored up empty phrases' achieved nothing. Jesus gave his beleaguered disciples a framework which we call The Lord's Prayer. 

So I will focus for the next six weeks on the prayer that God taught us to say. Each week will follow the same pattern. We will begin with the Lord’s Prayer (this week is the traditional version). Then you are invited to listen to a piece of music, before the reflection begins. I am listening to Air which is the first composition on the Arelius EP – ‘Elements’. The EP was inspired by the Lockdown and written to bring a sense of peace and tranquillity when many people's lives have been turned upside down. You are invited to choose your own music and when you have listened to it, the reflection begins.

The opening lines ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name’, say so much. Think about ‘Our Father, who art in heaven.’ This is the God who created all of us and wants the best for us. Whatever pain we are going through Our Father is always there for us. ‘Heaven’ gives us a glimpse of where God resides; a place of truth, hope, love, honesty and justice. Surely this is the sort of place we aspire for Earth to be?

‘Hallowed be thy name’ is not a particularly contemporary phrase, but the meaning is clear. The name of God is sacred and precious. Everything God created and redeemed has the potential to become holy. 

If we only ever say one prayer, the Lord’s prayer is so profound it is sufficient to provide the basis of all prayer for the rest of our lives.

Consider immersing yourself in this prayer over the next six weeks and I hope you will engage with it afresh, and discover depths to the words you hadn’t previously thought of.

I pray that the words the Lord taught us will become the very foundation for your prayer life and will bring you much comfort as you feel closer to God. Believe me He is listening.

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 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

With blessings

Rev Rona