The Lord's Prayer

Today we're going to learn about the most special prayer of all - the Lord's Prayer, or الصلاة الربانية! This is the prayer that Jesus himself taught his followers. One day, Jesus was praying quietly by himself. His disciples watched him and saw how peaceful and happy he looked when he talked to God the Father. When Jesus finished praying, one of his disciples came to him and said, 'Master, teach us how to pray like you do!' The disciples wanted to learn the best way to talk to God. Jesus smiled and gathered all his disciples around him. 'I will teach you a beautiful prayer,' he said. 'When you pray, say these words from your heart.' Can anyone tell me what the first words of the Lord's Prayer are? That's right - 'Our Father who art in heaven!' Jesus taught them to call God 'Father' because God loves us like the best father ever. Jesus continued teaching them: 'Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.' The disciples memorized every word carefully. They were so happy to have this special prayer from Jesus! In our Maronite tradition, we pray the Lord's Prayer during every Divine Liturgy, just like Christians have done for almost 2,000 years. When we say these words, we're praying exactly like Jesus taught us. What does this teach us? Jesus gave us the perfect prayer to talk to God our loving Father anytime we need Him!