Each week over the next couple of months we hope to provide a different version of the Lord’s Prayer for you to reflect on and be inspired by. Some retranslations, some are more interpretive reflections that have been inspired by the prayer. All of them I hope will stir your hearts and your minds to pray and maybe to write your own version of the prayer.
I thought we would start with a couple of my favorites which I have posted before but which I never tire of.
Lord’s prayer from the New Zealand Prayer book.
Eternal Spirit
Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all.
Loving God, in whom is heaven.
The hallowing of your name echoes through
the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the earth!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever.
Amen.
Aboriginal Our Father
This prayer comes from Australia and and has the Aboriginal flag which is very different from the usual Australian flag, as its background.
You are our Father, You live in Heaven, we talk to You, Father You are good. (repeat)
We believe Your word, Father, we’re Your children, give us bread today. (repeat)
We have done wrong, we are sorry, help us Father not to sin again. (repeat)
Others have done wrong to us and we are sorry for them, Father, today. (repeat)
Stop us from doing wrong, Father, save us all from the evil one. (repeat)
You are our Father, You live in Heaven, we talk to You, Father You are good. (repeat)
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By Lilly Lewin
Lent begins this year on February 17th, 2021 on Ash Wednesday. So we have a month to consider how we want to fall more in love with Jesus over the forty days of the Lenten season. I think we need to consider just where we are and how we are doing spiritually as we begin the journey of Lent. Here is a prayer station I like to use as we begin our Lenten Journey. This station can also be a a meditation/reflection to do as you consider where you are on your journey with Jesus today or any time. It can be a refection you do as a family around a centerpiece at dinner, or as a closing at your small group or youth group. It also could be created for your entire church community. The elements, the bowls of symbols, could be up front and as people came up for communion, they could put their symbols into a large bowl of water before receiving the bread and wine. Or the station could be multiplied around the worship space so everyone could pray with the elements at the same time following a sermon or talk.
Supplies Needed:
Large Bowl of Water
Bowl of Sand
Bowl of stones or rocks (enough for everyone present)
Bowl of kitchen sponges ( you can buy at the dollar store and cut in smaller pieces according to the size of your group.
Prepare you Heart for the Journey
We have the opportunity to go on an amazing Journey with Jesus ove the next 40 days, the seaon of Lent. But before anyone starts a journey, they must get ready. They must prepare.
How are you feeling today?
How is your heart?
Is it soft like a sponge ready to absorb more of God?
Is it more like a rock, feeling heavy and weighted down?
Is your heart like dry sand, a desert in need of water?
Is your soul in need of refreshment?
As you begin your journey, Choose a symbol of where your heart is today:
SPONGE=wanting to absorb more of God
ROCK=feeling weighed down, in need of help
HANDFUL OF SAND=feeling dry and in need of refreshment
NOW put your symbol in the Water
Jesus is the Living Water!
Allow him to refresh you!
Allow Jesus to prepare your heart for the Journey of Lent.
Allow Jesus to heal you.
Allow Jesus to forgive you.
Jesus know and love you just as you are! Ask Jesus to help you prepare for the Journey!
You can have extra sponges, rocks, and sand so participants can take home a symbol, or have just extra sponges for everyone to take home so they can be reminded that they can absorb more of God each day.
When you see or use a sponge to clean the dishes or wipe up a spill, remember that Jesus want to refresh you with his living water each day of your journey.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
By June Friesen —
GET HIGH ON GOD
The talk of the world –
The talk of the community –
The talk of people all ages, races and places –
Let us get high and have a good time!
Some get high on comfort food,
Some get high on illegal food –
Namely alcohol or drugs hoping for a better mood –
But the question is: why not get high on God?
The talk of one who knows peace and satisfaction
Should be that which offers a high like no other –
A high given only when one is totally full of the Spirit –
Infilled, infused, empowered and endued!
Some may find the fullness of the Spirit comes
From those quiet and alone moments with God –
Others may find it when with dear Christian sister or brother –
And still another may find it when uplifted by worshipful song and praise!
Get high on God today –
It will keep the enemy at bay –
Do not allow for any delay –
There may not be another day –
As life may quickly be snatched away –
Just let God show you the way!
Ephesians 3:18-20 (NLT)
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think”.
When I am out and about in the world of people I often here the term ‘get high.’ At times I wonder who, if anyone, really understands or has a definition of what that phrase really entails or means. I suspect that for every person the meaning is different. It depends on one’s life’s experience, past and/or present and possibly how involved and/or uninvolved one was/is in those experiences. In our world we somehow seem to expect that life should be good or better and some may even think that it should be the ‘best’ because of what they have or have not done or because of who they are and/or where they live. From the perspective of these verses it would seem that God desires that it is in Him we find fullness of life, in Him we would find the ‘high’ that we need to get through this life here on this earth. It is indeed that which would help us accomplish God’s plan in and through us for this day as well as every day.
So may I encourage you….may I invite you…..the best ‘high’ in life today is ‘to get high on/with God’. Will you join this journey today?
By Ash Knepper —
A few weeks ago my mind was muddled with worry and fears. It’s crazy how quickly little things like that can slip in. For me it’s a big problem, a sure fire way for the enemy to attack. A little worry here and a little fear there, and soon my thoughts are rolling down the hill like a snowball, gaining speed and growing in size.
I’m prone to fear and fear is like a prison. It enslaves me and makes me unable to live my life the way Christ wants me to live. It twists reality and lies about the truth. It takes my trust in God and convinces me that it’s misplaced. That He isn’t looking out for me, that He hasn’t got this.
As I laid in my bed, overcome by fear and placing worry on the ordinary things in life that I shouldn’t worry about—I asked myself what brought it on. The answer was almost immediate. Where had my quiet time gone?
My son is almost two and to be honest, mama’s tired. He’s energy in his purest form, he loves staying busy and hates sleep. He’s light and joy and magic and I’m so thankful for him! But when I’m this tired the first thing to go is that morning quiet time with God. In its place is an extra hour and a half of glorious sleep. Needed sleep!
But just a few days of sleeping in instead of spending time with the Lord and the change was palpable. In my thoughts, in my my actions, in my words. I wasn’t making time for Jesus, to hear His voice, get His input, have His goodness wash over me, to be reminded of how I should act, speak, think—and get his strength to do those things. It’s amazing how much we truly need Jesus. Not just once a month, or once a week—but daily, hourly. Without Jesus pouring into my life I am different person. I am weak, quick tempered, fearful and prone to wander.
I set my alarm extra early so that I could meet with Jesus. The next morning as I read His Word and spent time in prayer I could feel Him washing over me. I could feel His strength filling me, I could feel my heart rejoicing. I was hungry for Him. In the light of His goodness and love my fears disappeared. The worries that consumed me just the night before, to the point of sleeplessness, vanished. The eternal breath of God flowed into my spirit, His heartbeat so close, my own heart reverberated His love for me. In His nearness there is peace. The most calming, alive, breathing peace that you’ll want to know, wrapped in unconditional love, ready, waiting for you in your Bible.
So the question is, do you want to be a better version of yourself, draw near to Him. Do you want peace of mind, spend time with Him. Do you want strength for the day, He’s waiting for you. There’s a reason to get up early before the kiddos, before work, before the husband, before school. There’s a reason to choose to put down the phone or carve out time, to make a point to open the Word and have Jesus pour life into you.
He will meet you and His words breathed into your very soul will revive you. He’s waiting for you, He’s longing for you. Time with Him is precious. Let Him wash over you. Don’t put it off. Jesus makes the difference.
Ash Knepper is an American novelist who writes Christian romance novels. She grew up in Europe and later moved to the Middle East with her husband where they did humanitarian work. She moved back to America in 2016 and has since dedicated her time to writing books that will encourage and inspire people in their walks with the Lord. Ash currently lives in Seattle with her husband and son.
instagram: @the.kneppers
As we continue to enter into 2020, we have all, I hope gotten our year off to a good start and now we are able to focus on how to sustain ourselves throughout the coming seasons. We had some incredible posts from our friends on our last theme.
Lent starts February 26th, but apart from that we thought that we would like Lent to flow out of our spiritual practices for the whole of the year. Hilary has been reading Henri Nowen’s Heart Speaks to Heart and I as usual, have my John O’Donohue books out. She has been inspired by the concept of the heart beat of God, and I am once more contemplating the concept of eternal breath. So we thought that we would combine what inspires us as we create a new theme on Godspace:
The Heart Beat of God & Rhythm of Eternal Breath
We wanted to leave this a little wide open for our writing community as they have started to send in reflections on their heart beats and rhythms of eternal breath. However today, as a place to start spend a few minutes meditating on this quote from Henri Nouwen that Hilary has been reading in his book, “Heart Speaks to Heart”:
“You did everything to show us your love and your Father’s love. You became a small, dependent child to show us yourself in your weakness; you became a refugee in Egypt to show us your solidarity with all who are driven from their homes; you grew up in obedience to your parents to show us how close you are as we search for true identity; you worked for many years as a simple carpenter to show us how you wanted to be with us in our daily work; you were tempted in the desert to show us how to resist the forces of evil around us; you surrounded yourself with the disciples to show us how to share our vision with others and to work together in ministry; you preached the word of God to show us your truth and how to become, ourselves, witnesses to truth; you healed the sick and raised the dead to show us that your presence gave life to the whole person, body and soul; you were transfigured to show us your divine splendor; you went the long road of suffering and death to show us that you did not want to remain an outsider even in the most painful of all human experiences. You, the eternal Word of the Father, kept making choices that brought you closer and closer to us, to reveal to us the boundless love of your heart.”
One of the practices I have been thinking about that speaks to me both of the boundless love of God’s heart and the power of God’s eternal breath is the Lord’s prayer. A few years ago we published a whole series of posts of the Lord’s prayer for today. I wrote this adaptation and have been re-reading and adapting it this week. I also found a number of other versions that have been created over the years, some of which you can find here (and don’t miss Andrew Jones’ blogger’s version). So we will be exploring this as well.
We look forward to this new theme, The heart beat of God & Rhythm of Eternal Breath on Godspace and we wanted to invite you on this new journey with us!
by Christine Sine
I am often inspired by the scriptures I read each morning as well as by the books that I am constantly perusing. This week has been a particularly enriching one from this perspective. A quote from John O’Donohue’s To Bless The Space Between Us: May the eternal in me welcome the wonder of this day, and Psalm 25:3 in The Passion Translation I entwine my heart with God’s have both firmly lodged in my brain. Each morning I sit in their presence, savoring them, drinking in their richness and inviting them to to take root deep in my heart.
As I sit in this still dark, winter place I breathe in their fragrance and other words rise to meet them, resonating in my soul and spreading through my body. Questions swirl though my mind and I invite you to join me in meditating on them:
What would happen if I did entwine my heart with God’s every morning.
What would it be like if I wrapped my life into God’s eternal purposes and allowed the divine breath to fill and inspire me?
I wrote the words in my art journal and made a list of what came to mind. If I entwined my heart with God’s…
I would not fret or fear.
I would be attentive to every moment, to every person, and to every thing. I would notice what usually goes unnoticed and find joy in the simple everyday events of life. I would hold onto the love of God at the very centre of my being. I would invite this love to govern my every action and direct my every step.
It is easy for me to write these words, but hard for me to practice them. This week I will continue to recite what is becoming a timely mantra for me: I entwine my heart with God’s. The eternal in me welcomes the wonder of this day. I will sit in the stillness of these words each morning and allow them to penetrate my soul.
Here is the poem that my quiet reflection has already given birth to:
Awed I sit,
In the silence of the dawn
The miracles of God
embrace me.
Leaves dappled,
with purple and green and white.
Sunlight shining through the clouds.
Infinite variety,
Untold complexity.
Not autumn this
But fruit of every glance.
It stops me in my tracks
With gasps of delight.
I entwine my heart with God’s.
Love comes,
Light shines
The eternal in me
welcomes the wonder of this day.
(Christine Sine January 2020)
What words, scripture verses or images are nourishing your soul this week?
Kong See Fatt Chai: Reflection on Lunar Chinese New Year by Alex Tang —
The greatest annual human migration on earth often goes unnoticed by the world. Every year, between January 10 to February 18, billions of Chinese people will rush home to celebrate the Lunar New Year Spring Festival with their families. This year CNN estimated 3 billion people are making the trip by rail, cars, air, and sea. This tradition to spend the dinner with their families (reunion dinner) on Chinese Lunar New Year eve is the major festive event on the Chinese calendar. Spring is a time of new birth, where the old year is left behind, and a new year is welcomed. The Chinese will make sure all debts are paid before the year ends. This is similar to the Jewish Passover and Jubilee festival.
The seasons of death and rebirth is deeply ingrained into the Chinese culture due to their close observation of the four seasons. The ancient Chinese are monotheistic. They worship a one god called Shang Di, whose attributes are very similar to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Unfortunately, under the Emperor Qin Huang Ti, the dragon replace Shang Di as the center of worship, and he himself become the ‘ancestral dragon’. The dragon, in Chinese culture, is regarded as good and beneficent, unlike the dragon/serpent in the West. Thus the Chinese people was deceived and undergoes generations of intense suffering and pain under the Deceiver. We have only to look at their long history of suffering under their Dragon Emperors, warlords, and recent history under the Communists.
Every Lunar Chinese New Year brings a theme of hope. A new year with a fresh start. The possibility of being better than the previous year. That is why it is such an important Chinese festival. And why so many Chinese make their annual long journey home. Some will travel days or weeks. It is to be with family at the close of the old year, and to welcome, hopefully a better year, with family. During the New Year day, the Chinese wish each other “Kong Hee Fatt Chai” meaning “wishing you prosperity in health and wealth”.
Every New Year brings hope of spiritual renewals. Isaiah notes that the Messiah will deliver the peoples from darkness including the Chinese people!
Isaiah 49:12 (NKJV)
12 Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”
The Hebrew word Sinim in the Mesoretic text means Chinese. Most scholars find it strange that Isaiah will mention Chinese so they look around for a similar sounding tribe. They found a tribe, the Syennites, who lived near the Aswan, which is in the south.
Isaiah 49:12 (NIV)
12 See, they will come from afar— some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”
The only reason Aswan was chosen is because the translators and scholars was trying to fit everything into the context of what Isaiah was saying. Isaiah mentioned north and west. It was the translators and scholars who chose the Syennites (south) instead of the Chinese (east). It is strange that they did not look east. Nevertheless, Jesus will deliver the Chinese people from the darkness and this new decade will see a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit among a country which is unleashing another level of persecution on Christians and other religious traditions. Out of this refining fire will come a stronger Church; one purified by suffering and pain. The Lunar Chinese New Year brings hope. Hope for new beginnings, new life, and a prosperous new year.
Alex Tang is a pediatrician, educator, author, and spiritual director. Please visit his website Kairos Spiritual Formation www.kairos2.com and befriend him on Facebook
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