Our Father in Heaven

In Matthew 6:8 we read that Jesus taught his disciples to pray

“Our Father in Heaven”. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for introducing us to Your Father as our Abba, Father.  We would be so easily overwhelmed by trying, in our very limited intellectual capacity, to comprehend the full power, honor and majesty of the Lord of Hosts, the train of whose robe fills the temple!  It is such a glorious gift that we can know You as our perfect Father!

Hallowed be Your Name.

Your Name is Holy and the seraphim cried “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory!”

Your Kingdom come.

Abba Father, show us, your children, how we may pray, how we may live, how we may act to promote and hasten the coming of Your Kingdom that is yet to come. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, come and establish your reign.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Let your will be done in my life, in the lives of my family, in the lives of our nation.  Holy Spirit, lay upon our hearts to intercede for our nation every day:  “If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and heal their land.”  II Chronicles 7:14.

And to this prayer, we can add this prayer frin Psalms 68: “Let God arise and His enemies to scattered; let those that hate Him flee before Him.  As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.  But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly!”  Thank you, Jesus, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

And give us this day, our daily bread.

Jesus in the bread of Heaven.  “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”  (John 6: 35). Jesus is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that if any eats of it he will not die.  We will partake of this bread daily.

Today is a day that finds every country in the world facing the effects of ever-increasing effects of sin, manifested in so many ways, having such a life-killing effect on so many people.  We are in such desperate need of Jesus, the Bread of Life!

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Thank you, Abba Father, for Jesus finished work on the cross, for the blood that He shed, for suffering such a horrific death, for bearing the sins and sicknesses of the world. His sacrifice, the giving up of His life (“No one takes it from Me”.) has provided us with total and complete and forever cleansing, redemption, reconciliation with God, with new life that is eternal life!  “Though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  Isaiah 1:18. With such an indescribable gift of eternal forgiveness, freely given, may we, with compassion and love, forgive all those who offend us.  It is so important that we realize the need to forgive.  To be truly “set free” by Jesus’s forgiveness, we must also freely forgive those that have sinned against us...hurting us, damaging us, enraging us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

When I have read or recited The Lord’s Prayer as it appears in several translations of the Bible, the question arises in my mind “why would Jesus pray ‘lead us not into temptation’?”  Doesn’t this make it sound like God sometimes lures humans into temptation to see if we will sin? James 1:13 states clearly that “nobody being tested should say, ‘It’s God that’s testing me,’ for God cannot be tested by evil, and He Himself tests nobody.” It is clear that God does not tempt anyone to sin.

More recently, I have read this prayer in both the New Revised Standard version and in N. T. Wright’s New Testament for Everyone.  In both translations, this prayer has been translated as “Do not bring us to the time us to the time of trial.”

As a plausible answer to my question of “why such a different meaning?”, I found this explanation on the internet. I have italicized certain words or phrases in an attempt to point out or highlight what I thought as being very important.

 From the Internet:  The difference between "lead us not into temptation" and "save us from the time of trial" represents a shift from an internal, moral battle to an external, world-ending crisis.

Both translate the exact same Greek but they view the nature of spiritual danger differently.

1. Linguistically: What does the Greek "Peirasmon" mean?

The Greek word peirasmon has two distinct meanings, which drive the two translations:

• Temptation: An internal enticement to commit a sin.

• Trial / Testing: An external crisis or ordeal that tests a person's faith.

2. Theological Nuance: Does God Lead Us to Sin?

The traditional phrasing has long caused theological confusion, which modern translations try to fix.

• "Lead us not into temptation": This literal phrasing can make it sound like God actively lures humans into traps to see if they will sin. However, mainstream Christian theology (such as James 1:13) states that God does not tempt anyone.

• "Do not bring us to the time of trial" or “Save us from the time of trial”: This avoids attributing the temptation to God. It frames the situation as a plea for God to spare believers from an overwhelming ordeal that might break their faith.

3. Cosmic vs. Everyday Context

The two interpretations change how a person applies the prayer to daily life:

• Personal Ethics (Traditional): "Lead us not into temptation" is an everyday, personal prayer. It asks for the strength to resist daily vices like greed, anger, or lust.

• The End Times (Modern): "Do not bring us to the time of trial" uses an eschatological lens. It refers to the "Great Tribulation" or ultimate cosmic trial predicted in the Book of Revelation. It asks God to protect believers from global upheavals that make holding onto faith nearly impossible.

4. Recent Liturgical Shifts

In 2019, Pope Francis famously approved a change to the Italian translation of the Lord's Prayer, altering it to "do not let us fall into temptation." He argued that the traditional phrase was misleading because "it is not God who throws me into temptation... a father does not do this."

The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) created the "time of trial" phrasing to be used ecumenically across Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, aiming for a translation that is both biblically accurate and less confusing to modern readers.

 So we are asking God to steer us away from temptation, but when it comes, as it surely does, ring the bell, sound the alarm!  Remind us that You have equipped us to resist and flee from every temptation. 

We know that the temptations that we face every day do not come from God but from our adversary, the Satan, the devil, the father of lies, the accuser of the brethren, the one who comes only to steal, to kill and destroy.  God has equipped us with His full armor that includes the shield of faith and we use this shield of faith to “quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one”.

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever!

Hallelujah! We are citizens of Your Kingdom!!  And as a post-script to the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray, we can add the prayer of King David when he prayed -

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, the radiant splendor and the majesty.  Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O Lord, and this in Your Kingdom.  We adore You as the One who is over all things.  I Chronicles 29-