The Lord's Prayer

We repeat the Lord's Prayer Sunday by Sunday. Sometimes its familiarity stops us considering the significance of this gift of Jesus to his disciples. In Luke's Gospel, the prayer is short and to the point. This is in line with Jesus's instruction (in Matthew's Gospel) not to heap up many words (Mat 6:7-8). Here Jesus teaches his disciples to address God as "Father". This address is more formal than Jesus's personal address of God as "Abba". It reminds us that we can presume on our familiarity with God, particularly as the first request in this prayer is that God's person and his authority be respected. When we have acknowledged who God is, then we can make our requests. The good news of the gospel is that this God, who is to be respected above all else, chooses to allow his fullness to dwell in us through faith in Christ (Col 2:9-10).