Even while a child is in its mother's womb, it begins to hear its mother's voice, and the voices of others who are in frequent contact. As the child is born, it continues to learn language - with remarkable speed - until that child begins to experiment with words him- or herself.
Learning languages seems to come naturally for most young children, so why should we think that it should be any different for us as we learn to know God? Jesus gave us words that can be used when we pray - when we try to speak with God - and this language can also be learned and understood by human beings.
Father, hallowed be your name (Lk 11:2) - translation: Father, may your name be held holy.
Your kingdom come - translation: may the kingdom of heaven become a reality in our lives.
Give us each day our daily bread (Lk 11:3) - translation: Give us everything that we need for this day.
And forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and lead us not into temptation (Lk 11:4) - translation: here's where the rubber hits the road, since we are asking God to forgive us to the extent that we ourselves forgive others who have wronged us ... and we ask Him not to put us in situations where we can be tempted, but by extension, we also agree not to put ourselves in such situations.
These are simple words, but they hold great challenge for us, if they are properly understood.
Have a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment