I've been studying prayer and its meaning since 2003, and this book changed everything I ever thought about a specific passage in Matthew 6. Verses 9-13 say: Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Father Albert Haase says this is not just a prayer, but a vow to fulfill, and a lifestyle to live out. First, the word "Our" is inclusive. We have to realize there is more than one of us. "Father" is a word of relationship, so this is a family life and we have obligations to live as a family. The rest of the prayer requires similar action on the part of all Christians--who else is going to hallow His name? Who is going to make His kingdom come or see that His will is done on earth? It requires initiative, it requires being hospitable, it requires caring more for others than ourselves, and most of all, it requires listening to Our Father to hear what He wants us to do.
Father Albert writes with an easy-to-understand manner, which makes it tough to ignore what's being said in this prayer. Like Mark Twain said: It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.
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