"Our Father, who art in Heaven"
Do we call God Father because He created us all?
No, for this reason we can call Him the Creator, or the Creator. The conversion of the Father presupposes a very definite personal relationship between the children and the Father, which must be expressed primarily in likeness to the Father. God is Love, therefore our whole life should also become an expression of love for God and for the people around us. If this does not happen, then we risk becoming like those about whom Jesus Christ said: Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father (John 8:44 ). The Old Testament Jews lost the right to call God Father. The prophet Jeremiah speaks about this with bitterness: And I said: ... you will call Me your father and will not depart from Me. But truly, just as a woman betrays her friend treacherously, so you, O house of Israel, have dealt treacherously with Me, says the Lord. …Return, you rebellious children: I will heal your rebellion (Jer 3 :20-22). However, the return of the rebellious children took place only with the coming of Christ. Through Him, God has again adopted all who are ready to live according to the commandments of the Gospel.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria : “Only God himself can allow people to call God Father. He granted this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they withdrew from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted oblivion of insults and the sacrament of grace.”
Why “Our Father” and not “mine”? After all, it would seem, what could be a more personal matter for a person than turning to God?
The most important and most personal thing for a Christian is love for other people. Therefore, we are called to ask God for mercy not only for ourselves, but for all people living on Earth.
Saint John Chrysostom : “...He does not say: My Father, who art in Heaven,” but “Our Father,” and thereby commands us to offer prayers for the entire human race and never have in mind our own benefits, but always try for the benefits of our neighbor. And in this way he destroys enmity, and overthrows pride, and destroys envy, and introduces love - the mother of all good things; destroys the inequality of human affairs and shows complete equality between the king and the poor, since we all have equal participation in the highest and most necessary matters.”
Why “in Heaven” if the Church teaches that God is omnipresent?
God is truly omnipresent. But a person is always in a certain place, and not only with his body. Our thoughts also always have a certain direction. Mentioning Heaven in prayer helps to distract our mind from earthly things and direct it to Heavenly things.
Saint John Chrysostom : “When he speaks in Heaven,” with this word he does not imprison God in heaven, but distracts the one praying from the earth.”
How did the Lord's Prayer come about?
The Lord's Prayer is the main Christian prayer. It was given by the Lord himself. This distinguishes it from other prayers that make up the joint work of the Church (texts of the Holy Fathers, personal prayers of ascetics, Old Testament texts, etc.). The Lord's Prayer in Russian is also called the Lord's Prayer. It received this name due to the fact that Jesus Christ told the words of this prayer to his disciples.
“It happened that when He was praying in one place and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord! teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11.1).
The Pharisees and John the Baptist taught their followers to lift up their thoughts to God. The Lord gives words of prayer, which are not only an appeal to God, but also the basis of the worldview of a believer. It is for this reason that the Lord's Prayer is a model prayer.
Bible, Gospel of Matthew (Synodal translation into Russian)
"Hallowed be thy name"
Why specifically ask for this if God is always holy anyway?
Yes, God is always holy, but we ourselves are not always holy, although we call Him Father. But can children not be like the Father? “Hallowed be your name” is a request that God help us live righteously, that is, so that His name is hallowed through our lives.
Saint John Chrysostom : “Let him be holy means let him be glorified. God has his own glory, full of all majesty and never changing. But the Savior commands the one who prays to ask that God may be glorified by our life. He said about this before: Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16 ). … Grant us,” as the Savior teaches us to pray, “to live so purely that through us everyone will glorify You.”
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
And who does not have power even over pigs, how can he take possession of people who are awake and attentive, protected by God and recognizing Him as their King? Therefore, at the end of the prayer, He expressed the kingdom and power and glory of God, saying: “For Thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13). This, he says, I ask of You because I know that You are the King of all, have eternal power, can do whatever you want, and possess inalienable glory. For all this, let us thank Him who has honored us with such blessings, since all glory, honor and power are due to Him, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Saint John Chrysostom
"Thy kingdom come"
What kingdom are we talking about? Are we asking God to become a world king?
The Kingdom of God are words that simultaneously mean two concepts here:
- The state of a renewed world after the end of the world and the Last Judgment, in which people transformed by grace and inheriting this Kingdom will live.
- The state of a person who, by fulfilling the commandments of the Gospel, has overcome the action of the passions, and through this has allowed the grace of the Holy Spirit to act in himself, which every Christian receives in the sacrament of Baptism.
Saint Theophan the Recluse : “This kingdom is the future kingdom of heaven, which will open after the end of the world and the Last Judgment of God. But in order to sincerely desire the coming of this kingdom, we must be sure that we will be awarded it along with those to whom it will be said: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34 ). Worthy of this is the one in whom, during this still life, the reign of sin, passions and the devil has been stopped. The suppression of this kingdom is accomplished by the action of grace through faith in the Lord Savior. The believer surrenders himself to the Lord, promising Him to live holy and blameless. For this, in the Sacrament of Baptism, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, reviving him to new life; from that moment it is no longer sin that reigns in him, but grace, teaching him every good thing and strengthening him to do it. This is the kingdom of grace, about which the Lord said: the kingdom of God is within you. The future kingdom is the kingdom of glory, and this is the spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of grace. The Lord's Prayer embraces both kingdoms together. Otherwise, he who desires the speedy coming of the future kingdom, but has not become a son of the kingdom of grace, will wish for the end of the world to come sooner, and the Last Judgment, at which he will inevitably find himself on the side of those who will hear: depart from me, cursed into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel."
Interpretation of the prayer
“God understands only those prayers which, when the one praying says, understands what he is saying and feeling” (Reverend Simeon the New Theologian).
An important component when reading a prayer is understanding the words addressed to God. Therefore, one should resort to the interpretation of the meaning of prayer, which was compiled by the Holy Fathers. If you listen only to your mind, then there is a possibility of distorting the meaning of sacred words.
“Our Father who is in heaven”
Addressing God as the loving Father of all mankind.
“Oh, what condescension towards us, what an abundance of favor and goodness of the Lord, when He allowed us, when praying before the face of God, to call God Father, and to call ourselves sons of God, just as Christ is the Son of God! None of us would have dared to use this name in prayer if He Himself had not allowed us to pray so” (Saint Cyprian of Carthage).
It is thanks to this attitude and appeal to God as Father that Christians consider each other brothers and sisters. Accordingly, the relationship between them should be similar to the relationship between close and beloved relatives.
According to the interpretation of St. Theophan the Recluse, “in heaven” indicates the father’s house, thereby tearing a person away from the earth and raising his thoughts to the Heavenly Father.
“Hallowed be thy name”
That is, Your name is glorified. These words indicate that man does not need to seek anything other than the glory of God. The glory of God can be understood in different ways. For example, as the exclusive Divine presence. Or visual fulfillment of God’s commandments, meaning complete agreement with His will.
“Thy Kingdom come”
Foreshadowing the events of the Last Judgment and the Second Coming, after which the Kingdom of God will come. This Kingdom will free man from the bonds of sin, and the devilish forces will be completely overthrown. And by uttering these important words, a person also expresses the hope of being close to God - in the abode of all-consuming love, and not of being sentenced to eternal suffering.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
A petition to God for the gift to comprehend the will of the Lord for every person living on earth. Thus, one can be saved through keeping God’s commandments and understanding His holy will (based on the interpretation of St. Theophan the Recluse).
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Bread has a double meaning here. Firstly, as food that the Lord sends to feed a person every day of life. Also, the Holy Fathers interpret “bread” as Communion (Eucharist), thus desiring to continually be with Christ through eating His Body and Blood.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Debts should be understood as human sins. Just as everyone forgives their neighbor for bad deeds, insults, insults, so God will forgive our sins.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Only with God's help can a person overcome demonic attacks and protect him from the influence of evil spirits. With these words, Christ indicates that one must always rely on God in everything. Man himself, without the help of the Almighty, cannot cope with life's trials and circumstances that lead to sin. This is how the evil one tempts a person every day, and only by humble prayer to God can one protect oneself from the snares of the devil.
“Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth”
Doesn’t God carry out His will on earth even without such a request from us?
The will of God is carried out on earth not only by His direct action, but also through us, Christians. If we live according to the commandments of the Gospel, it means we are fulfilling the will of God. If not, then this will will remain unfulfilled in the place where we did not fulfill it. And then - through us - evil enters the world. Therefore, with the words thy will be done, we ask God to protect us from such trouble, and to direct our lives to the fulfillment of His good will.
St. Augustine : “Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth. Angels serve You in heaven, so may we also serve You on earth. The angels in heaven do not insult You, and let us not insult You on earth. How they do Your will; let us do the same. “And what are we praying for here, if not to be kind to us?” For the will of God then happens in us when we do it; and this means being kind.”
Nine secret meanings in the Lord's Prayer
priest Vladimir Panarin
This is the most important prayer of a Christian; it was dictated by Jesus Christ himself. Every baptized person knows it by heart, so much so that the expression “to know it like the Our Father” has even appeared.
But do we know the deep meaning that is embedded in it? After this article you will feel the greatness and power of this prayer!
Let's read this prayer in its entirety, and then analyze it.
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; And lead us not into temptation , but deliver us from the evil one: for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6)
Father
We turn to God and the Creator - “Father”. With this one word, fear is driven out of the heart and love reigns. Because this is how we say: I am Your child : Your son / Your daughter.
In response, the Lord imbues us with a feeling of parental care and love. With these words we promise to obey God like our own mother.
Our
We don’t say “mine,” but call God our Father. This is how we recognize Christians as brothers and sisters. This one word ignites pride and individualism in us and makes us one big family.
Who art in Heaven is translated “Who is in Heaven.” Thus, we emphasize that we are not addressing our earthly father, but the One who always dwells in the invisible world, in the angelic world.
Hallowed be Thy Name
The word holy comes from the word “taken.” That is, isolated from the general environment, special. With these words we express the desire that even the Name of God should never be pronounced in vain, that it would be surrounded by awe and reverence , that the whole world would give special honor to God. In translations this place is met with “let Your name stand out”
Thy Kingdom come
Christ pointed out that the Kingdom of God is within us . With these words of prayer, we ask God to reign in our hearts with peace and quiet joy, love and mercy. So that sin does not reign in us.
With this phrase we also express the hope that sin and death after the Judgment of God will cease to exist and the entire visible world will turn into the Kingdom of the Creator.
Thy will be done as it is in Heaven and on earth
That is, we ask that in the visible world, on Earth, the good will of God be fulfilled just as ideally as it is fulfilled by the angels in the invisible world. And if we remember that man is “earth” in his composition, then it turns out that we ask our entire nature, even the body , to be made subject to the will of God.
Give us our daily bread today
Urgent means “everyday.” With these words we ask God for the most necessary things for today . And only for today. We show that we do not worry about tomorrow, as He commanded us (Matthew 6:34). We ask not for wealth and fame, but for the food that will help us live another day in this body.
But most importantly, with these words we ask God for communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, which, according to His own words, is “the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven” (John 6:48). If bread gives life to the body, then Heavenly Bread allows our soul to unite with God and through this gain eternal life .
And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.
These are very happy words! It turns out that after baptism we can receive forgiveness of sins.
But these are also very scary words. Because in them we ask God not to forgive us our sins, if we do not forgive any of the people who have sinned against us.
Interestingly, sins are called “debts.” It’s as if we didn’t take our own money and now we have to return it. For example, we have done evil deeds, and now we must do as many good ones. But we either don’t know how, or don’t have the time and energy, so we ask you to forgive us these debts.
And do not lead us into temptation
We ask God not to lead us to trials. For example, illness can be not only a punishment for sin, but also a test of strength. God can test our patience.
Agree, if we ask God not to test us, then we promise Him that we will not test His patience and tempt the Lord.
But deliver us from evil
How capacious! In one word, we have listed Satan with all his servants, and evil crafty people , and our crafty and dishonest thoughts, words and deeds! Some translations simply say “from evil.”
In the Didache (1st-2nd centuries), the most ancient Christian monument that was not included in the New Testament, it is indicated that this prayer must be said three times a day.
“Give us this day our daily bread”
What do the words “daily bread” and “today” mean?
“Essential” means necessary for our existence; “today” means today. So this is a petition for what we most need at this moment, for today. The word “bread” was understood by the holy fathers here in two meanings: bread as food; and bread as the Eucharist.
Saint Simeon of Thessalonica : “Although we ask for heavenly things, we are mortal and, like people, we also ask for bread to support our being, knowing that this too comes from You. By asking only for bread, we do not ask for what is superfluous, but only for what is necessary for us for the present day, since we have been taught not to worry about tomorrow, because You care for us today, and you will care for us tomorrow and always.
But give us this day our other daily bread—the living, heavenly bread, the all-holy body of the living Word. This is our daily bread: because it strengthens and sanctifies the soul and body, and whoever eats it will not have life in himself, but whoever eats it will live forever (John 6:51—54)».
“And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.”
Does God forgive sins only to those who have forgiven their offenders? Why shouldn't he forgive everyone?
Resentment and revenge are not inherent in God. At any moment, He is ready to accept and forgive everyone who turns to Him. But remission of sins is possible only where a person has renounced sin, seen all its destructive abomination and hated it for the troubles that sin has brought into his life and into the lives of other people. And forgiveness of offenders is a direct commandment of Christ! And if we, knowing this commandment, still do not fulfill it, then we are sinning, and this sin is so pleasant and important for us that we do not want to give it up even for the sake of Christ’s commandment. With such a burden on the soul it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God. Only it is not God who is to blame, but ourselves.
Saint John Chrysostom : “This absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced about us lies in our power. So that no one who is unreasonable, being convicted of a great or small crime, has any reason to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the guilty one, a judge over himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment do you pronounce on yourself, I am the same judgment I will say about you; If you forgive your brother, then you will receive the same benefit from Me.”
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Does God tempt anyone or lead anyone into temptation?
God, of course, does not tempt anyone. But we are not able to overcome temptations without His help. If we, receiving this gracious help, suddenly decide that we can live virtuously without Him, then God takes His grace away from us. But He does this not for the sake of revenge, but so that we can be convinced from bitter experience of our own powerlessness before sin, and again turn to Him for help.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk : “With this word: “Do not lead us into temptation,” we pray to God that He will preserve us with His grace from the temptation of the world, the flesh and the devil. And although we fall into temptations, we ask that he does not allow us to be overcome by them, but helps us to overcome and conquer them. From this it is clear that without God's help we are powerless and weak. If we ourselves could resist temptation, we would not be commanded to ask for help in this. By this we learn, as soon as we feel a temptation coming upon us, to immediately pray to God and ask Him for help. From this we learn not to rely on ourselves and our own strength, but on God.”
Who is this evil one? Or is it evil? How to correctly understand this word in the context of prayer?
The word wicked is the opposite in meaning to the word straight . Onion (as a weapon), from the beam of the river, the famous Pushkin's bow omorye - all these are words related to the word onion in the sense that they denote a certain curvature, something indirect, twisted. In the Lord's Prayer, the devil is called the evil one, who was originally created as a bright angel, but by his falling away from God he distorted his own nature and distorted its natural movements. Any of his actions also became distorted, that is, crafty, indirect, incorrect.
Saint John Chrysostom : “Christ here calls the devil evil, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him, and showing that he is not such by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And the fact that the devil is primarily called evil is due to the extraordinary amount of evil that is found in him, and because he, without being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable war against us. That is why the Savior did not say: deliver us from the evil ones, but from the evil one, and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes suffer from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil, as the culprit of all angry."
On the screensaver there is a fragment spbpda/wwww.flickr.com
