Among the many prayers that exist in Christianity, there is one that Jesus Christ himself has left for us, and this is the prayer “Our Father”.
Famous theologians interpreted prayer, but at the same time it left a kind of mystery in itself, the soulfulness inherent only to it. It may seem simple, but it makes a lot of sense.
Of course, each of us guesses what this prayer is about, but at the same time, when pronouncing its text, any person puts his personal and deep meaning into it.
The prayer “Our Father” is unique, it is special in that it was left by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when he taught his disciples to pray correctly.
It is built in a certain way and consists of 3 parts:
- The first part of the prayer is in it we praise God.
- The second is our request to God.
- The third part is the final part of the prayer.
In the prayer left by Christ himself, these parts are clearly visible. The first part begins with “Our Father” and ends with words that show the glorification of God — the Holiness of the Name, the will, the Kingdom; in the second part we ask for urgent needs; and the final part begins with the words - “Thy way is the Kingdom.” In the prayer “Our Father” we can count seven petitions from the Lord. Seven times we speak of our need for God. Let's deal with all the parts of prayer in order.
"Our Father"
We are turning to our heavenly Father. Christ said that we should love the Father of God and appeal to him with trepidation, as if we would address our father.
"Heavenly"
Next come the words "Existing in heaven." John Chrysostom believed that we, on the wings of our faith, flew above the clouds closer to God, not because he was only in heaven, but so that we, so close to the earth, often looked at the beauty of heaven, turned all prayers and requests there. God is everywhere, in the soul of the one who believes in him, in the heart of the one who loves and accepts him. Based on this, we can conclude that believers can be called heaven, because within themselves they carry God. The Holy Fathers believed that the phrase "existing in heaven" is not the specific place in which God is located. From this we can conclude: in those who believe in God, who believe in Christ, there will be God. Our goal is for God to be within us.
"Hallowed be thy name"
The Lord himself said that people should do such things so that their good deeds glorify God the Father. You can sanctify God, doing good, not doing evil in life, telling the truth, be wise and prudent. Glorify our Heavenly Father with your life.
"Thy kingdom come"
Christ believed that the Kingdom of God would come in the future, but at the same time, part of the Kingdom was already open to us during the time of Christ, He healed people, cast out demons, did miracles, and thus a part of the Kingdom was opened to us, where there are no sick people, hungry. Where people do not die, but live forever. The Gospel says that "Satan is the prince of this world." The demon has climbed into human life everywhere, starting from politics in which greed and anger rule, ending with economics, where money rules the world and culture, which feelings are alien to. But the elders believe that the kingdom of God is approaching, and humanity is already standing at its line.
"Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth"
The Monk Isaac of Skitsky believed that a true believer knows: great misfortune or, conversely, happiness - everything the Lord does is only to our advantage. He cares for the salvation of each person and does it better than we could do ourselves.
"Our daily bread will give us this day"
These words made theologians think for a long time about their meaning. The conclusion to which one can be inclined is that believers ask God to take care of them not only today, but tomorrow, so that God will always be with people.
"And leave us our debts, as well, and we leave our debtors"
At first glance it seems that everything is clear. But you should pay attention that the word Duty means sin. And the Lord said that when we forgive the sins of others, our sins will be forgiven.
"And Lead us not into Temptation"
We ask God that he will not allow us to feel the trials that we cannot withstand, in such life difficulties that can break our faith, which will break us and lead us into sin, after which a person will become dishonored. We pray to God to prevent all of this.
"But deliver us from the evil one"
This phrase is also easy to decipher. We ask God to protect us from evil.
“For Thy is the Kingdom, and power, and glory forever. Amen”
Initially, the Lord's prayer was without this concluding phrase. But this phrase has been added to emphasize this prayer.
Now consider the entire text of the prayer. It is very easy to remember. With this prayer, you need to start your day, before eating it is also read by believers, and ending the day will also be good for her.
This is how the prayer “Our Father” sounds completely in Russian, and next you can see the text as it is presented in the prayer book. And you can visually compare both texts.
Another version of the prayer is “Our Father” in full. It practically does not differ from the above text, but it will be useful as a separately saved version.
It is advisable to pray correctly, observing the stress. A person who has recently come to faith will need this text of the prayer “Our Father” with stresses.
Prayer is a conversation between man and his Heavenly Father. We need to pray more often, and then the Lord will hear our requests and will never leave us. We clearly saw the text of the prayer “Our Father” with and without stresses. The Orthodox Church advises to learn to pray correctly, observing the accent, intonation, but do not be upset if the prayer is hard to give at first. The Lord sees the human heart and will not turn away from you, even if you make a mistake.