Anyone who grew up in the Christian church knows the Lord’s Prayer and can most likely recite it from memory. And many of us are exceedingly familiar with the King James version with plenty of thee’s, thy’s and thine’s. The Lord’s Prayer feels majestic, ritualistic, and VERY churchy. But I have a feeling that, though highly appropriate for the people living in 1611 in England when this version was completed, much of its true meaning has been lost in the modernization of the English language. We cling to the feelings it evokes when we “recite” it in the King’s English, but I have often wondered if it is, for the majority of us, truly a prayer, that is, a personal encounter with God.

During my morning commute today, I was listening to a prayer meditation on YouTube that used Psalm 118:24 as its foundation. Inhale with “This is the day the Lord has made.” and exhale with, “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” As I breathed in and out, God told me that if I had never really understood the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, to rewrite it as if I was talking to God like I do every day… So I have on my heart to paraphrase the Lord’s Prayer in my own words. Firstly, to give it meaning for me and make it come alive and secondly, to give others another way of thinking about the Lord’s Prayer. In some ways, I am bewildered that it has taken me so long to do this. I pray that God will reveal God’s words to me. So here goes…

The Lord’s Prayer in Ludy’s words inspired by God:

Lord, you abide in a peaceful, beautiful paradise watching over us. When we say your name we know it is holy and that it brings us life.

Send us peace, love and joy so you can reign in our lives and remind us that everything we experience here in this life can and should be a reflection of heaven.

You know our every need so thank you for providing the nutritional, spiritual, and emotional nourishment that gets us through the day and is renewed every morning we wake up. Be gentle and merciful with us, Jesus, because we constantly fall short of the purpose and greatness you have in store for us. Likewise, help us to be gentle and merciful toward others who have in one way or another made our lives difficult.

Help us with our struggle to do your will because we are so often distracted by everything that is happening around us. Protect us from the perils and dangers seen and unseen that threaten our walk with you and remind us that you are with us always.

We know you are everywhere and in everything. We acknowledge that all things are under your control. Your greatness is impossible for us to even imagine but once in a while we catch a glimpse of it through our prayers and meditations. If I close my eyes and imagine the most beautiful colorful sunrise or warmest sunset, it gives me a tiny insight into who you are. And we are so happy that this is how it will always be.

Amen