Fr. Justus Paul OP

The Our Father, a Complete Prayer

The prayer that Jesus taught us is the most perfect prayer. It is also the most complete prayer. It is apparently a prayer of petition, asking for the most fitting and the most necessary things from God. In it we ask from God all good things we can ever think of! There are seven petitions in it. Let us examine these closely so as to pray with greater fervour, greater faith, and greater results.

1. “Holy be your name.” We pray that God’s name be held holy. It means that our lives may be so guided and blessed by God that in our hearts and minds God’s name may be adored and praised. It also means that through our lives other people too may come to glorify God’s name. St. Paul warns those who cause dishonour to God’s name because of their sinful lives: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Rom 2: 24). On the other hand, those who glorify God’s holy name, and call upon him, will experience his loving kindness, for “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10: 13). The first petition in the Our Father is not merely to be prayed, but is to be lived. St. Paul tells us: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3: 17). When we call on the name of God with thanksgiving, faith and love, we grow in our awareness of the fact that we are indeed God’s beloved children because the Holy Spirit moves our hearts and to realize who we are. “When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him!” (Rom 8: 15b- 17).  

2. “Your kingdom come.” The second petition is that God’s kingdom may come in our lives and in the lives of all human beings. It is amazing that every petition has a universal application. We are not praying for ourselves only, we are praying for every human being! In this we share the mind of Christ who holds everyone dear to his heart. No one is left out or less favoured. It would be quite absurd if we pray for the coming of God’s kingdom and do nothing to bring it about. Christ makes us share in his ministry. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation! (Mk 16: 15). Jesus promised that wherever the gospel is preached the signs of God’s kingdom will become visible (cf. Mk 16: 17-18). Our life is not to be wasted on pursuits that bring temporary gains. He tells us: “Seek first kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt. 6: 33). Nothing shall be wanting to those who sincerely labour for God’s kingdom. They will share the life of Christ in every aspect: in his love for the Father, in his anointing with the Holy Spirit, in his largeness of heart that makes every human being his own, and in his sufferings, death, and resurrection. This is made abundantly clear in the reply he gave to St. Peter’s question as to what would be the reward the disciples who left all things to follow Jesus would receive: “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this tine, houses, and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mk 10: 29-30). It is good to remind ourselves that the kingdom of God we are praying for is not merely a matter of carnal enjoyment; it is far greater: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14: 17).

3. “Your will be done.” We humans are marked out from all other creatures because of the manifold intellectual and spiritual gifts bestowed on us by God. One of these most valued gifts is the ability to decide, the deliberative capacity as some call it. But our decisions are often vitiated not only by our lack of knowledge and experience, but also by an innate tendency to evil which is the result of sinfulness. Some call this concupiscence, a tendency to gratify the all too human desires rather than choose the best. We are plagued by the desire for instant gratification, and an ever increasing craving for more. Any number of goods and services are available in the market. Man’s imagination keeps bringing up new products in the market which we never needed yesterday, but which have become almost indispensable today! The market tells us that we cannot be happy unless we have a whole lot of products which are put up for sale! We know we are being cheated, but we cannot say “No.” For example we know that cosmetic lotions and creams and colours and perfumes and sprays are all carcinogenic. Yet we cannot but buy and use these deadly poisons. We know that the artificial colours added to food are very harmful, but we go for the brightest looking pastries and ice-creams, and some even add colour to the rice they cook and eat! All this shows that although we have been gifted with free will, we largely misuse it causing us harm to body, mind and spirit. Therefore we take refuge in God and pray to him that his will be accomplished in all human beings as it was accomplished in Christ who said: “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6: 38).

4. “Give us this day our daily bread.” God is concerned about the necessities of our daily life, not about our superfluities which often come from evil and lead us to evil. We live in a very unjust world where the resources are accumulated, rather horded to rot in the hands of  a few, while the majority slog to make both ends meet, and vast multitudes are hungry, malnourished, and deprived of basic necessities. Praying the “Our Father” must not only make us trust in God’s superabundant generosity, but also must make us aware of our responsibility to share equitably the goods we have received from him. While we lift up the starving multitudes of the world to the heavenly Father asking for “our daily bread” we must also know that the resources we store for ourselves are robbed from the poor by unjust means. How can we make ourselves too comfortable while living in the midst of those deprived of basic necessities? Indeed the “Our Father” is not just a prayer. It is a revolutionary document which proclaims social justice based on love which we ought to share as God’s loving and beloved children. It is also a prayer of faith and trust that the God who provides for today will provide for tomorrow as well. So we ask for our “daily bread.” It is said that St. Dominic who sent out his friars to beg for their daily necessities would not let them keep anything for the morrow. Instead, if anything was left in the evening in the kitchen or store room, he would distribute the same to the poor. He and his friars prayed and begged for bread just for the day!

5. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” This seems to be the only request that has a condition attached to it. We must forgive others before we seek God’s forgiveness for ourselves. In the book of Sirach we read: “Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does a man harbour anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord?” (Sir 28: 2-3).  The words and actions of Jesus show how eagerly he offered forgiveness and sought the welfare of offenders. He taught us not just to tolerate our enemies, but to love them, bless them and pray for them. The prodigal son’s story tells us about God’s merciful and forgiving heart. We are challenged and encouraged to imitate our heavenly Father. Jesus says, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5: 48). Jesus himself prayed for those who crucified him, making excuses for them that they did not know what they were doing (Lk 23: 34).

Why does God insist that we forgive others?  Obviously it is because he loves us. He does not want us to be hurt. In refusing to forgive we are not only hurting others, we are hurting ourselves. An unforgiving person cannot be happy. If one refuses to love even a single human being one cannot experience the peace and joy that God lavishes abundantly on his children. Forgiving an enemy, rather someone considered to be an enemy, is a big struggle, no doubt. It is an adventure! But it is worth the trouble. The best way to go about it is first to pray earnestly for the welfare of the offender. There are many who offer forgiveness because it is commanded by God, and continue to nurture the hurting memory. “Oh, I forgive because I have to. But I shall not forget!” This is a very limited, half hearted forgiveness. We must forgive totally as God forgives us! Sometimes it is humanly not possible to forget, and the memory of an offence may bring back feelings of disappointment, even anger. This does not mean that we have not forgiven. What is important is our will, our firm decision to forgive. Sincere prayer for the offender is a sure sign of our forgiveness. After that we leave our hearts in the hands of God to purify us, to anoint us with the Holy Spirit. And then everything changes; even memories of wounds and hurts become moments of peace, moments of grace! This is the gift God offers us when we step close to the cross of Christ and join the crucified one to pray for those who sin against us. Forgiveness is the greatest gift we can offer to anyone; it is a gift of love. It is a gift that brings us abundance of gifts. After telling us to be merciful as the Heavenly Father is merciful Jesus tells us not to judge or condemn others. “Forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive good measure, pressed down and running over, poured into your lap. For the measure you measure will be the measure you get” (Lk 6: 36-38). By refusing to forgive, we block the abundant blessings that God has planned for us.

6. “Do not bring us to the test!” Good and evil exist side by side in this world. The latter is more attractive, leading us or rather misleading us to choose evil than good. St. John reminds us that “the whole world is in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5: 19). The Devil is a great marketing expert who knows how to wrap up mere rubbish in glowing colours and sell it to us at the cost of our souls! St. Paul therefore warns us against the works of evil such as “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like” (Gal 5:19-21). St. John tells us that what the world offers us is “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” which do not come from God, but from the world (cf 1 Jn 2: 16). Jesus warns us clearly that “temptations are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin” (Lk 17: 1-2). Therefore it is very important to pray for God’s protection against temptations.  We have the assurance of St. Paul who tells us that we will be empowered by God to withstand temptation: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it!” (Cor 10:13).

7.  “Deliver us from evil.” The previous petition was to save us from temptation so that we may not go against God’s will and be enslaved to sin. But this last petition is apparently for those under the bondage of sin. In answer to our prayer God washes us clean in the blood of Christ our saviour. Jesus is the deliverer. He has conquered sin and death. His very name means “God saves.” Deliverance from evil is not possible except by accepting Jesus. In the Gospels we are often reminded of the grim reality of people’s refusal to accept Jesus. We can feel the pain with which St. John writes, “He came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1: 11). But immediately the evangelist speaks of the transformation that is effected in those who accept Jesus, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1: 12). When we pray to the Father to deliver us from evil as Jesus taught us, it implies that we have accepted Jesus as our saviour and that we have opened our hearts to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We thus experience deliverance from evil and a new life in God, “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom 5: 5) through the death and resurrection of the Son of God. This is echoed in St. Paul’s cry: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God who does this through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7: 24-25).   

Indeed, the Our Father is a prayer that is best prayed from beneath the cross of Christ. Every prayer of Christ was perfect. But for us humans who are used to making comparisons, the prayer of Christ dying on the cross is indeed the most compelling. We are sure that it not only tore the curtain of the sanctuary in two (cf. Mk 15: 38), but also pierced the heavens (cf. Sir 35: 17) into the presence of the Father. The Our Father is a prayer that transforms us into God’s children, loving and beloved. In it we join Christ to call God “Abba! Father!”  We are brought to share the Abba experience of Christ who heard the Father’s words “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased” (Lk 3: 22). The Our Father is not a prayer to be merely recited by heart. It is a prayer to be thought over and meditated upon. St. Ignatius Loyola, in the Spiritual Exercises, advises us to pray the Our Father word by word, meditating on each word for an hour, even for a day! Looking at the face of the heavenly Father, with the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, along with Christ our Lord, let us pray the Our Father. It will transform our lives and make us Christ-like. It will unite us intimately with Mother Mary, with all the saints and angels, and with all God’s children. It is a prayer that unites us to God and to all. It is a complete prayer. Therefore it is worth praying it well as often as we can.