“Our Father in heaven,” what is man that we should be called your sons and daughters, beloved children of God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Yahweh of Hosts, the Ancient of Days. You are not a father preoccupied with work or engrossed in your smartphone; you are a present Father, attentive to our every need. We give thanks to you always and for everything. You are the Giver of life, the Giver of every good thing. We give praise and honor to our Lord and King, Jesus Christ, your Son, and our humble and gracious elder brother. He was Himself the embodiment of the prayer He taught us to pray –– He brought honor to your Name, ushered in the Kingdom, submitted to your will, gave Himself as daily bread for the life of the world, offered forgiveness, and delivered us from evil. By His faithfulness, you have seated us in the heavenly places. From His fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace. And by His Spirit, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of sonship, we cry to you, “Abba! Father!”
“Hallowed be thy Name” in all the earth. Your Name is already holy, but may it be lifted and glorified by every tribe, nation, and tongue. Keep before the eyes of the world the drama of your divine majesty and the merciful redemption you have unfolded through time. Guard the honor of your Name jealously. As those who have been baptized into your Name, empower the Church to bear your Name in justice and righteousness — never to bear it in vain, never to stain your reputation before the watching world. For the sake of your Name, fulfill your promises to us. Judge wickedness, and bring us justice. For the honor and glory of your Name, forgive us, restore us, sanctify us, fill us with your Spirit, and make us to be fruitful and to multiply.
“Thy Kingdom come” in every home, every neighborhood, every city, and every nation, until the knowledge of your glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. Bring healing and restoration to all that your enemies have broken. Claim back all that your enemies have stolen. Establish the righteous reign of the King of Kings, the Lord of all the earth; make it tangible, visible, and non-ignorable. Nourish the mustard seed of the Kingdom, grow it, and may the poor and needy find shelter in its branches. Knead the gospel into us until the world is fully leavened. Generation after generation, fulfill your promise to Abraham and claim the nations for whom the Lamb was slain. From the way we parent our children to the leaders we put in office, from the pennies we place in the offering box to the faithful testimony of Christian martyrs, from the voices of children in the sanctuary to the planting of churches in nations where true worship is illegal, make us faithful witnesses to your loving and gracious dominion. Make us bearers of your Kingdom. Make all things new.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Thank you that we have not been left to our own earthly devices, without a higher vision to guide us. We look to your will in heaven as the pattern and blueprint of things yet to come; namely, your holy city, the New Jerusalem. Lift up your saints into your holy presence to join with the heavenly throng. And God, be enthroned in every heart. Our world is filled with darkness, destruction, and death. Your Name is insufficiently hallowed, your Kingdom seems far too distant, and your will is seldom done. But we yearn for the world you intended, the world you are remaking, the world that will one day be. Bring our consummate future to bear upon the present, and grant to us your heavenly wholeness, the peace and joy of dwelling in your courts.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” for we are needy creatures. We are not self-sufficient beings. We are beggars in need of the generous and compassionate provision of another. We are dependent children, and were you to withdraw your loving hand, we would cease to be. So we renounce our entitlement. We beg you on behalf of the hungry: please give to us a more just and more fair global economy. Provide for those in need, and use us to accomplish it. Teach us to receive all things, the sweet and the bitter, as from the hand of a loving Father. And as our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, give to us daily the Bread of Life, the body of Christ, that we may live eternally.
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” We have sinned against you by what we have done and by what we have left undone. You know our frailty. You remember that we are dust, and you are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. You do not always chide. You do not harbor your anger. You do not deal with us according to our sins. You so loved the world that you gave your only Son for our deliverance and forgiveness. Teach us to receive this grace for ourselves, and teach us to steward this grace for others. We come to you on behalf of an unbelieving world; we are miserable because we have not listened to your voice, and so we ask your forgiveness. Our culture does not know whether to be tolerant or to cancel. We have no mechanism for dealing with the sins of the past. So teach us the true meaning of repentance and forgiveness. Holy Spirit, give peace and unity to your Church. May we, having been baptized into the family of our Triune God, live in love and perpetual harmony with one another.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” First and foremost, deliver us from the evil within us. Save us from ourselves. Cleanse us. Give us faith to receive the hour of testing. Apply pressure. Apply heat. Refine us and make us stronger, that the genuineness of our faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor. But keep us in the meantime, and take not your Holy Spirit. In addition, deliver us from the evil around us. Thank you for Jesus, who did not wallow in the midst of evil, nor did He look the other way, nor did He respond self-righteously. Rather, He faced the evil boldly and bravely. In the same way, we entrust ourselves to the Judge who judges justly, who defends the weak and fatherless, the poor and oppressed. How long, O Lord, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood? We are powerless in ourselves to rid this world of evil, so praise be to Christ, who was led into temptation and given over to the forces of evil for our deliverance. We long to know the fullness of His victory over those forces. Empower us to stand bravely in the darkness, wherever the world is in pain, to act with bold compassion, and to pray your Kingdom come.
“For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.” God of Hosts, you are transcendent. Your power and glory will forever be unrivaled. Your kingly reign is that for which all creation is groaning. And yet, yours is the power and glory of a manger, the power and glory of a cross. Your power and glory redefine power and glory. Bring this redefinition to bear upon our world. Where there is poverty, where there is injustice, where there is corruption, where there is death, your Kingdom is what we need. Disciple the nations of the world to learn your ways and to walk in your paths. Reveal to them your all-powerful yet non-coercive kingship of humility and love. We pray toward the final manifestation of your righteous rule on this earth. We look to that glorious future, and we call upon it now, in this present moment. Empower your Church, the Bride of the Lamb, to fulfill your purposes for her. Our hope is in you.
Amen.
Drew Knowles is a Theopolis Fellow and pastor serving in Houston, TX.