FRIDAY, September 25 (Sergius of Moscow)

Matthew 6:7-15. Do not heap up empty phrases.

In this passage, Jesus teaches us the Lord's Prayer. It is the model for all prayer. It has no empty phrases; every word is loaded.

This prayer is learned early in childhood. It is also often retained by people at the end of life when everything else has left them. In any gathering, people can recite it by memory.

The Lord's Prayer is short but contains some vital elements of prayer. We praise God (hallowed be your name). We pray for ourselves and others (give us bread, rescue us). We confess (forgive us our debts).

As with anything so well-known, so familiar, it can become rote. We can say it without thinking as its words roll off our lips-the phrases can in fact become empty. Therefore it is vital to remember what Jesus said when he introduced this prayer: "Do not heap up empty phrases."

Jesus also reminds us that our Father knows what we need before we ask him. For this reason, we pray not to tell God what we need, but to connect with God. Take some time this day to pray this prayer thoughtfully, meditating on each phrase. It will be time well spent.

PRAY for the Diocese of Springfield (Province V, USA)

Ps 88 * 91, 92; 2 Kings 9:17-37; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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Sep 25, 2009 at 6:21 am

Written by mwk,

I learned this prayer like many Christians as a child. As I grew older I started to question my faith. I went through a phase where I would seek God in nature. Organized religion didn't "work for" for me. Through a dark period of my life I was drawn back to the church of my childhood. I still cringed a little with some of the text of some of the hymns. I struggled. But then we said the Lord's Prayer, and I realized.. this is it! I can agree on this, there are no rules and set dogmas. Everything that is important in my relationship with God is in this Prayer. It gave me great relief, and continues to be a source of peace and a stablising moment when I pray it. (It is always better out loud and in small phrases!) What a gem!

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Sep 25, 2009 at 6:30 am

Written by SCM,

Ditto what MWK wrote this morning. And as an adult returning to the Episcopal Church, which I never really feel like I left as I was so welcomed "back", I found the Lord's Prayer from New Zealand. This colorful version with less formal language spoke to me in a way that the Lord's Prayer never had before. Now I keep a copy of both available.

Thy Will

Sep 25, 2009 at 7:07 am

Written by Mark,

It is often hard to remember, as today's meditation reminds us, "our Father knows what we need before we ask him." It is all too easy to focus on our own needs in prayer, and the needs of others. But in fact, it should be a time for connectedness, and a means of trying to figure out what God wants from us, and not the other way around. The Lord's Prayer can be very centering, and serves as both a connection to God and a means of asking how we can help "thy will be done."

a good way (at least for me) to avoid heaping up empty phrases

Sep 25, 2009 at 9:42 am

Written by Mike Kurtz,

Our parish still uses the traditional form of The Lord's Prayer. I have found that by memorizing the modern version, using it daily in my personal worship, and saying it simultaneously while the rest of the congregation is reciting the traditional form, allows me to better focus on meaningful phrases and avoid empty ones.

The Lord's Prayer

Sep 25, 2009 at 8:02 pm

Written by Kathleen Thompson,

I have never been able to be comfortable with the "new" version of the prayer. But still when I pray the traditional version I am stuck on "Thy will be done," which I always say with a bit of trepidation, as I'm praying "as long as everything will be OK with my family, Thy will be done." I need to stop doing that.

In addition to the Lord's Prayer, I also like adding the General Thanksgiving, which has been lost to most of us Episcopalians in the absence of Morning Prayer. The General Thanksgiving provides a lot of soul-fulfilling text in that we give thanks for our (and our family's) "creation and preservation." That is big stuff to me, as I daily pray that my adult children will be safe in their travels and vocation. Can't the General Thanksgiving be incorporated into the Eucharist service? (I know -- it would be CHANGE!)

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