Teach Us To Pray

For two millennia, Christians have been daily reciting the words of a prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples: a blueprint that teaches us how to live before God. Join now with billions of Christians throughout history as we reflect on what Martin Luther called “the very best prayer that ever came to earth.”

When we pray ‘thy kingdom come,’ we pray “for the end of the world as we know it.” The arrival of God’s reign, though greatly anticipated by Christ’s followers, poses a danger to our desire for self-governance. Do we really want God’s kingdom enough to pay the cost?

For Christians who live in developed and affluent countries, why ought we to pray for daily provisions when we already have resources to last much longer? In this session, we discuss what this petition means and also how it makes us more dependent, more content, and more generous in our care for others.

Why is it so important to ask God for forgiveness? And what exactly are we asking forgiveness for: sins, trespasses, or debts? In this session, we explore why we need to be forgiven, and how the regular practice of asking for mercy and forgiveness makes us more merciful and more forgiving toward others.

The final petitions of the Lord’s Prayer are subject to differences in translation. Is it “deliver us from evil” or “deliver us from the evil one”? “Lead us not into temptation” or “save us from the time of trial”? In this session, we examine just what is this evil that threatens us and why we must ask to be delivered.

For centuries, Christians have concluded the Lord’s Prayer with a doxology. For as the Psalms wonderfully illustrate, the ultimate purpose of prayer is nothing less than the praise and celebration of God. In this final session, we discuss what is meant by “Thine is the Kingdom” and how praise enables us to escape our own self-centered existence.