The Lord's Prayer Mini-Sermon

Three weeks ago I had the privilege of giving my first ever "mini-sermon" at Pres House, my church in Madison. Three other students and I each spoke for about five minutes about Matthew 6:5-13, which specifically looks at the Lord's Prayer and praying in general. During the week leading up to the day I gave my sermon, I had a wonderful and challenging time thinking about what this passage was saying to me, and how I would put these thoughts into words to share with others.

As someone who grew up in a small, First Congregational United Church of Christ in Ripon, Wisconsin, going to church never really required me to memorize anything. I know neither the Apostles’ Creed, nor any Hail Mary’s, and I cannot sing to you the books of the Bible, much less in the correct order.  However, there is one prayer that has managed to find a place in my long-term memory from ever since I was about 6 years old: The Lord’s Prayer.

This week, as I was thinking about my seemingly barren arsenal of memorized Christian prayers, I began to wonder why this New Testament passage was the only one my church at home says every single week. Further, if it is especially important why do I only think about it on Sundays?

As I picked at these questions and thought deeper about the prayer, I realized that one section really bothered me, Matthew 6: 9-13. It says, Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Normally when I pray, I politely ask God for things, but quickly let him know that I completely understand if he doesn’t want to fulfill my desires. This passage sounds demanding to me. I feel like I’m saying, “Hey God, I know you’re all powerful and I’m pretty dopy, but I’ve got a few demands for you, and I’m going to remind you of them every single week.” This feels unsettling to me.

I thought more about what we mean when we pray these verses so directly, and I’ve found a reason that rests well with me. I believe the text is worded to God so straightforwardly, because we pray the Lord’s Prayer as broken, needy people. God recognizes we have a few desires that didn't make it on to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but are no less important to our spiritual life. While we yearn for earthly things like food, safety and self-esteem, we also need forgiveness of debts, leadership out of temptation and deliverance from evil. We mandate these things from God, because he alone can fulfill them and without them we are nothing.  

To me, what we mean when we say the Lord’s Prayer is, “God, you are great and your name is holy. On earth, you teasingly show us your wonderfully mysterious heaven. Each day you nourish our bodies, minds and spirits more so than Thanksgiving dinners, the New York Times and yoga ever will. You forgive us when we make mistakes and show us how to live purposeful lives through the example of your son. We often deviate from the God GPS, but you scoop us up and bring us home always. You do all of this for us, God, because you are the kingdom we dream about as children. You are more powerful than any military, medication or Apple product. And you are more glorious than a million starry nights. You are greater than all of these things, forever.

As Jesus reminds us earlier in Matthew, prayer is not to be a boastful practice. If a good prayer is a vanilla cake, we are not to layer heaping portions of frosting and sprinkles on its top. Further, the Lord’s Prayer is not just a “Sunday prayer” when we are surrounded by a loving congregation. It’s a prayer for the middle of the week when we’re in our most challenging, lonely moments. It is for when absolutely nobody can grasp us from the trouble we’re in. It’s for when we huddle in a corner with tear-soaked faces. In these moments, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we are made full each and every day. God lights our ominous caves and is the epitome of might.

After attending church about 45 weeks per year for 20 years, I estimate I’ve listened to or spoken the Lord’s Prayer roughly 900 times, but this week was the first time I dissected its meaning for myself. I feel tremendously comforted by the fact that this prayer is my Swiss army knife for life. It has a tool for forgiveness, leadership and deliverance and offers the promise of God’s kingdom, power and glory forever. I encourage you, too, to think critically about the Lord’s Prayer and find an intimate meaning in whichever message you find. In times when coffee, Wikipedia and Ben and Jerry’s are not enough, I challenge you to remember the Lord’s divine words through his prayer. Amen.

This experience taught me that, with God's help, we all have the ability to find an intimate meaning in scripture.

Andrea