Today I want to share with you a version of the Lord’s prayer shared by the group Lutherans Restoring Creation. This prayer was adapted from the New Zealand Book of Prayer influenced by Maori theologians.
We pray our common prayer that Christ taught us.
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and
Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echoes through the
universe! The way of your justice be followed by the
peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by
all created beings! Your beloved community of
peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on
earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In
the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the
grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the
glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
In the sixth chapter of Matthew Jesus tells the disciples to “pray in this way” or in another translation “pray like this”. Jesus doesn’t say you must use these same words, he gives us a suggestion on how to pray. I love the version of the Lord’s Prayer that we typically use in worship, but it’s also nice to switch things up on occasion and hear the words anew.
In this version adapted from the New Zealand Book of Prayer the line “With the bread we need for today, feed us” stands out to me. We can both be talking about the physical food that feeds us on a daily basis, but we are also asking God to feed us spiritually through the presence of Christ in the Sacrament of Communion.
What line stands out to you today? What did you hear differently in this prayer today?
Intern Pr. Jon
