On Sunday, I preached about the Lord's Prayer and as part of the service we said the Lord's prayer out loud in worship. This is not something we do too often.
After that service, I had someone affirm the use of the Lord's Prayer and then she added "because I have been concerned how our children will learn it, since we don't ever use it here."
That comment got me to thinking... is it true? Does saying the Lord's Prayer in worship teach us what Jesus was hoping to teach when he taught it to his followers? What is the purpose of saying the Lord's Prayer in worship?
(We do teach children the Lord's Prayer in our Sunday School and JoyKidz ministries.)
There is nothing wrong with saying the Lord's Prayer in worship. The danger comes when we make it something we rotely say and it has no meaning. It's the same danger that integrating anything into worship on a regular basis has. I am convinced that Jesus taught the prayer as a model prayer not as something to repeat verbatim in a worship gathering. In fact when Jesus introduced it to his followers, he said, "pray then in this manner..." not pray this prayer. What I think is important to teach is the concepts behind the prayer.
That is what the sermon was about.... Pray in a way that is relational... God wants to be your father. Pray in a way that reminds you of what God wants... his name honored and his kingdom and will to come on earth as it is in heaven. Pray in a way that reminds us that we are not the only ones inhabiting the world ... others have needs... "Give us daily bread", "Forgive us AS we forgive others." and "lead us not into temptation."
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