On the Lord's Prayer

Contents

1. 1The gospel's teachings, spoken by the Son himself, guide believers to heaven.
2. 2Christ himself gave us the form of prayer, so that praying as he taught is the truest spiritual worship.
3. 3Praying Christ's own words is most effective, since he is our advocate with the Father.
4. 4Prayer should be quiet and modest, in private and in church, since God sees the heart and is everywhere.
5. 5Hannah prayed silently in her heart and was heard, as the psalms and Jeremiah also teach.
6. 6The humble tax collector, not the self-satisfied Pharisee, is the model for prayer.
7. 7Cyprian gives the text of the Lord's Prayer.
8. 8The Lord's Prayer is a common prayer for the whole church, prayed in unity like the three youths and the apostles.
9. 9The reborn believer calls God 'Father' because by faith he has become God's son, and he has only one Father in heaven.
10. 10'Our Father' is the prayer of believers made God's children, which Cyprian contrasts with those Jews who rejected Christ.
11. 11Those who call God Father must live as his sons, as temples of the Spirit.
12. 12'Hallowed be your name' asks that we, sanctified in baptism, may stay holy.
13. 13'Your kingdom come' asks for the heavenly kingdom promised to believers; Christ himself can be understood as that kingdom.
14. 14'Your will be done' asks for God's help to do his will, as Christ did the Father's will.
15. 15God's will is the life Christ lived and taught: humility, faith, justice, mercy, peace, love, and steadfastness to death.
16. 16Since we are both earth (body) and heaven (spirit), we pray that God's will may bring the flesh into harmony with the spirit.
17. 17'On earth as in heaven' can also mean praying that unbelievers too may be reborn and become heavenly.
18. 18'Our daily bread' is Christ in the Eucharist, received daily; we pray not to be cut off from it by grave sin.
19. 19'Daily bread' also means that disciples who have renounced the world ask only for today's food.
20. 20Riches are dangerous, like the rich fool's; the perfect give to the poor and store up treasure in heaven.
21. 21God provides food for the righteous, as he did for Daniel among the lions and Elijah by the ravens.
22. 22Praying daily for forgiveness reminds us that we sin daily and assures us of God's faithful pardon.
23. 23God forgives us only as we forgive others; the greatest sacrifice is peace and a people united in the unity of the Trinity.
24. 24God looked at Abel's heart, not his gift; Abel became the first martyr, while one who hates his brother is not saved even by martyrdom.
25. 25'Do not allow us to be led into temptation' teaches that the devil can do nothing unless God permits it.
26. 26Temptation is permitted either as punishment or as testing; praying against it keeps us humble.
27. 27'Deliver us from evil' sums up every petition, for with God's protection nothing need be feared.
28. 28As Isaiah foretold, Christ gave a short word: brief summaries of eternal life, the law, and prayer.
29. 29Christ, though sinless, prayed often and all night; how much more should sinners pray.
30. 30Christ prayed for us, and above all that his people might be one as he and the Father are one.
31. 31In prayer the heart must be fixed on God alone, as the liturgy's 'Lift up your hearts' reminds us.
32. 32Prayer must be joined with good works, fasting, and almsgiving, like that of Cornelius.
33. 33Prayers joined with good works rise quickly to God, as with Tobit, as Isaiah teaches, and as Paul calls gifts to him a sacrifice.
34. 34Praying at the third, sixth, and ninth hours was a figure of the Trinity, fulfilled at Pentecost, in Peter's vision, and at the cross.
35. 35Christians also pray at dawn for the resurrection and at sunset for Christ, the true Sun and Day, and indeed at every hour.
36. 36Christians, living in Christ's light, should pray at night too, anticipating the endless day of the kingdom.