Who left this prayer to people, our father. "Our Father" - a prayer left by the Lord Jesus Christ himself
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
People, Public DomainAccording to the Gospel, Jesus Christ gave it to his disciples in response to a request to teach them how to pray. Quoted in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:
“Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name; let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread this day; 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 yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen". (Matthew 6:9-13)
“Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name; let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread for every day; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor of ours; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:2-4)
Slavic translations (Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic)
Archangel Gospel (1092) | Ostroh Bible (1581) | Elizabethan Bible (1751) | Elizabethan Bible (1751) |
---|---|---|---|
Our eyes are already on nbs̃kh. let it be thy name. may your kingdom come. yes bow your will ꙗ. ꙗko on nb̃si and on the earth. our daily bread give us a day. (give us every day). and leave us our debts (sins). ꙗko and we leave our liar. and do not lead us into attack. u deliver us ѿ hostility. ꙗko yours is the kingdom. and power and glory ots̃a and sña and st̃go dh̃a forever. amen. | Ѡtche ours izhє єsi on nbsѣ, let it be your name, let Thy kingdom come, let your will be done, ѧko in Nbsi and in ꙁєmli. Give us our daily bread and leave us our debts, ѧko and mі i leave our debtor and don't lead us into misfortune but also ꙁbawi on Ѡt loukavago. | Thou art ours in heaven, let your name shine, let your kingdom come, let your will be done, ko in heaven and on earth, give us our daily bread today, and leave us our debts, ko and we will leave our debtor, and do not lead us into misfortune, but deliver us from the evil one. | Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name, let your kingdom come, let your will be done like in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and leave us our debts, as we also leave our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. |
Russian translations
Synodal translation (1860) | Synodal translation (in post-reform spelling) | good news (translated by RBO, 2001) |
---|---|---|
Our Father, who art in heaven! | Our Father who art in heaven! | Our Father in Heaven |
Story
The Lord's Prayer is given in the Gospels in two versions, a longer one in and a shorter one in the Gospel of Luke. The circumstances under which Jesus pronounces the text of the prayer are also different. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Our Father is part of the Sermon on the Mount, while in Luke Jesus grants this prayer to the disciples in response to a direct request to “teach them to pray.”
A variant of the Gospel of Matthew has gained general currency in the Christian world as the main Christian prayer, and the use of the Lord's Prayer as a prayer dates back to the earliest Christian times. The text of Matthew is reproduced in the Didache, the oldest monument of Christian writing of a catechetical nature (end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd century), and in the Didache instructions are given to say a prayer three times a day.
Biblical scholars agree that the original version of the prayer in the Gospel of Luke was significantly shorter, subsequent scribes supplemented the text at the expense of the Gospel of Matthew, and as a result, the differences were gradually erased. Mostly, these changes in the text of Luke took place in the period after the Edict of Milan, when church books were massively rewritten due to the destruction of a significant part of Christian literature during the persecution of Diocletian. The medieval Textus Receptus contains almost identical text in the two Gospels.
One of the important differences in the texts of Matthew and Luke is the final text of Matthew's doxology - “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen,” which Luke lacks. Most of the best and oldest manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew do not have this phrase, and biblical scholars do not consider it part of it. original text Matthew, but the addition of doxology was made very early, which proves the presence of a similar phrase (without mentioning the Kingdom) in the Didache. This doxology has been used since early Christian times in the liturgy and has Old Testament roots (cf. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13).
Differences in the texts of the Lord's Prayer sometimes arose because of the desire of translators to emphasize different aspects of polysemantic concepts. Thus, in the Vulgate, the Greek ἐπιούσιος (Ts.-Slav and Russian “daily”) in the Gospel of Luke is translated into Latin as “cotidianum” (everyday), and in the Gospel of Matthew “supersubstantialem” (over-essential), which indicates directly on Jesus as the Bread of Life.
Theological interpretation of prayer
Many theologians have addressed the interpretation of the prayer "Our Father". The interpretations of John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ephraim the Syrian, Maximus the Confessor, John Cassian and others are known. General works based on the interpretations of the theologians of antiquity were also written (for example, the work of Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)).
Orthodox theologians
A lengthy Orthodox catechism writes "The Lord's Prayer is such a prayer that our Lord Jesus Christ taught the apostles and which they passed on to all believers." He singles out in it: invocation, seven petitions and doxology.
- Invocation - "Our Father who art in heaven!"
Calling God the Father gives Christians faith in Jesus Christ and the grace of the rebirth of man through the sacrifice of the Cross. Cyril of Jerusalem writes:
“Only God himself can allow people to call God the Father. He gave this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they departed from Him and were in extreme malice against Him, He granted the forgetfulness of insults and the communion of grace.
- Petitions
The indication “who is in heaven” is necessary in order to, starting to pray, “leave everything earthly and corruptible and lift up the mind and heart to the Heavenly, Eternal and Divine.” It also points to the seat of God.
According to St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), “The petitions that make up the Lord’s Prayer are petitions for spiritual gifts acquired by redemption for humanity. There is no word in prayer for the carnal, temporal needs of man.”
- “Hallowed be thy name” John Chrysostom writes that these words mean that believers should first of all ask for “the glory of the Heavenly Father.” The Orthodox catechism points out: "The Name of God is holy and, without a doubt, holy in itself" and at the same time can "still be holy in people, that is, His eternal holiness can appear in them." Maximus the Confessor points out: "we sanctify the name of our heavenly Father by grace, when we put to death the lust attached to matter and are cleansed of the corrupting passions."
- “Thy Kingdom Come” The Orthodox catechism notes that the Kingdom of God “comes in secret and inwardly. The Kingdom of God will not come with obedience (in a conspicuous way)." As an effect of the feeling of the Kingdom of God on a person, St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) writes: “He who feels the Kingdom of God in himself becomes alien to the world hostile to God. He who has felt the Kingdom of God in himself can desire, out of true love for his neighbors, that the Kingdom of God be opened in all of them.
- “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” By this, the believer expresses that he asks God that everything that happens in his life does not happen according to him own will but as it pleases God.
- "Give us our daily bread this day" Orthodox catechism"Daily bread" is "this is the bread needed to exist or live," but "daily bread for the soul" is "the word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ." In Maximus the Confessor, the word "today" (this day) is interpreted as the present age, that is, the earthly life of a person.
- “forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” Debts in this petition are understood as human sins. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) explains the need to forgive others for their “debts” by the fact that “Leaving their sins before us, their debts to our neighbors is our own need: without doing this, we will never acquire a mood capable of accepting redemption.”
- “Lead us not into temptation” In this petition, believers ask God how to prevent their temptation, and if, by the will of God, they should be tested and cleansed through temptation, then God would not give them over to temptation completely and would not allow them to fall.
- “deliver us from the evil one” In this petition, the believer asks God to deliver him from all evil and especially “from the evil of sin and from the evil suggestions and slander of the spirit of malice - the devil.”
- Doxology - “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
The doxology at the end of the Lord's Prayer is contained so that the believer, after all the petitions contained in it, would give God due reverence.
The prayer "Our Father" is considered to be a universal prayer, which can be used in all cases. But few people know that there are mistakes in the Our Father prayer. I believe that the mistakes were made intentionally, so that as much as possible less people, could get in touch with God, and not only because of the inaccuracy of the translation. This is my personal opinion (and not only mine).
Mistakes in the prayer "Our Father". Victan.
From myself I want to add.
Once upon a time, I talked with my mentor more than once about this prayer. She knew her in childhood, it seems her grandmother taught her. And having many options, the question arises - What is the more accurate prayer? Why do some words sound different in prayer?
It turned out the following:
1. In times of famine, people asked for their daily bread, that is, literally - a daily loaf of bread. But now we do not have a shortage of food, whoever does not grow bread has the opportunity to buy. From the fact that we constantly ask for bread, the subconscious mind forms the psychology of consumption.
But without spiritual bread and lack of awareness, most people suffer. Therefore, it’s more correct to say the way grandparents prayed in the old days - our bread OPERATINAL. That is, what is above the physically existing world.
2. We leave debtorCOM ours - we are conducting a dialogue with God, and not with people who are in debt. We can forgive them at our own will, understanding or awareness, or we can come and collect the debt. Why ask God for what is in our strength and power?
The essence turned out to be much deeper: we ask the Almighty not to ask the Almighty to pay the bills from us until we complain, do not point in vain with the questions: "Why am I doing this, God?!" And we live according to our conscience, realizing causal relationships - we have what we deserve with our actions, desires, emotions. We ourselves have attracted this or that situation.
Recently I found this video from Victan and everything became clear.
Having the wrong "key", our petitions do not go beyond the chapel of the religious egregore and do not reach the one to whom the prayers and requests were addressed. Accordingly, this energy, to a greater or lesser extent, remains to nourish the entities Christian egregor, who respond and, if there is a mortal danger, help as far as possible.
I read the prayer "Our Father" in this version, it is closer to the point. This is how my grandmothers prayed.
In Church Slavonic:
Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be thy name,
let your kingdom come,
let your will be done
like in heaven and on earth.
Our bread supernatural give us today;
and leave us our debts,
like we leave debtor ours;
fence us from temptation
and deliver us from the evil one
Amen.
But more than that, this prayer is closer to me in Aramaic - the language that Christ spoke. But it is not a fact that the translation from Aramaic into Russian is accurate, without errors.
Interpretation of the Prayer "Our Father" from a religious point of view
“Everyone heard the text of the prayer and many know it from early childhood. There is no family in Russia where a grandmother or grandfather, or maybe the parents themselves, did not whisper the words addressed to God before going to bed, at the baby’s bed or did not teach when to say it. Growing up, we did not forget it, but for some reason we say it out loud less and less.
"Our Father" is a kind of standard and example of a faithful spiritual dispensation and one of the most important prayers of the Church, which is called the Lord's.
Few know that in small text the grandiose meaning of life priorities and all the rules of prayer appeal are laid down.
Three Parts of Prayer
There are three semantic parts in this unique text: Invocation, Petition, Glorification. Let's try to understand this in more detail together.
1st Invocation
Do you remember what your father was called in Russia? Father! And this means that by uttering this word, we completely trust the father's will, believe in justice, accept everything that he sees fit. We have no shadow of doubt, no perseverance. We show that we are ready to be his children both on earth and in heaven. Thus, moving away from worldly everyday concerns to heaven, where we see His presence.
1st Petition
No one teaches that we should glorify the Lord with words. His name is so sacred. But true believers, in front of other people, with their deeds, thoughts, deeds, need to spread His glory.
2nd Petition
It is, in fact, a continuation of the first. But we add a request for the coming of the Kingdom of God, delivering a person from sin, temptations, and death.
3rd Petition
"Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth"
We know that many temptations await us on the way to the Kingdom of God. So we ask the Lord to strengthen our strength in faith, in submission to His will.
With three petitions, the glorification of the Divine Name actually ends.
4th Petition
This and the following three parts will contain the requests of those who pray. Everything is here: we ask and speak about the soul, spirit and body without hesitation. We dream for every day of life, ordinary, like most. Requests for food, shelter, clothing... However, these petitions should not occupy the main place in a conversation with God. Limiting in the simple and carnal, it is better to erect invocations about spiritual bread.
5th Petition
The allegory of this petition is simple: we ask for our own pardon, because others, entering into prayer, we have already forgiven. It is better not to harbor anger at others first, and then ask the Lord for forgiveness for yourself.
6th Petition
Sin accompanies us all our lives. Someone learns to put a barrier on their way. Some people don't always succeed. So we ask the Lord for strength not to commit them, and only then we pray for the forgiveness of those who have committed. And if the main culprit of all temptations is the devil, please get rid of him.
7th Petition
"But deliver us from the evil one" A person is weak and without the help of the Lord it is difficult to emerge victorious from the battle with the evil one. This is where Christ instructs us.
doxology
Amen always means firm confidence that what is asked will come true without a doubt. And the triumph of the power of the Lord will again be revealed to the world.
A short prayer, a few sentences! But look, what a deep message and washed away: not blurry, not redundant, not talkative ... Only the most valuable and important thing.
Prayer "Our Father" is rightfully considered one of the most important for believers. It is called the Lord's, because the Lord himself, Jesus Christ, taught this prayer to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount.
In these, at first glance, simple words hidden meaning. There are many things associated with this text. interesting stories. The editors have prepared for you a few interesting facts about the most famous prayer in the Christian world.
It is believed that this is the only prayer that does not belong to the human mind. It was given to us by the Lord himself.
The text of the prayer itself is as follows:
Our Father who art in heaven!
hallowed be thy name;
let your kingdom come;
may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us our daily bread this day;
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 yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
By the way, this prayer does not have to be learned by heart, it was given by Jesus, rather, as an example.
These are words that contain almost all human needs and the desire for the salvation of the soul.
"Our Father" is a universal prayer. It can be used as a blessing in any business, as well as to protect against evil spirits and all sorts of misfortunes.
There are many cases when people were saved with the help of this miraculous prayer. Christians firmly believe that the prayer "Our Father" can help in difficult times when you are in danger.
One of the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, a certain Alexander, wrote a letter to his wife, which never reached her. It can be assumed that it was lost, since it was found in one of the places of deployment of troops.
In it, the man wrote that in 1944 he was surrounded by the Germans and was already waiting for his death: “I was lying in the house with a wounded leg, I heard the sound of footsteps and a German dialect. I realized that I was about to die. Ours were close, but it was simply ridiculous to count on them. I could not move - not only because I was injured, but also because I was in a dead end. There was nothing left but to pray. I prepared to die at the hands of the enemy. They saw me - I was frightened, but did not stop reading the prayer. The German did not have any cartridges - he began to quickly talk about something with his own, but something went wrong. They abruptly rushed to run, throwing a grenade at my feet - so that I could not reach it. When I read the last line of the prayer, I realized that the grenade had not exploded.”
It is worth noting that the world knows many such stories. Even those who do not consider themselves believers know the words of this prayer and use it in difficult circumstances.
With the help of this prayer, thieves and robbers repented and turned to God. But the power of this prayer is known not only in trouble. It is believed that if you read "Our Father" every day, your life will be filled with goodness and light.
Whether to believe these words or not is up to you, but for believers this prayer is of great importance.
If this information was useful for you, share the article with your friends.
“Our Father, Thou art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in Heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
INTERPRETATION OF THE PRAYER OUR FATHER
The most important prayer, it is called the Lord's, because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray (see Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
Our Father, Who art in heaven! With these words, we turn to God and, calling Him the Heavenly Father, we call to listen to our requests, or petitions. When we say that He is in heaven, we must understand the spiritual, invisible sky, and not that visible blue vault that is spread over us and which we call heaven.
May your name be hallowed - that is, help us to live righteously, holyly and glorify Your name with our holy deeds.
Let Your Kingdom Come - that is, make us worthy here, on earth, of Your Kingdom of Heaven, which is truth, love and peace; reign in us and rule over us.
May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth - that is, let everything not be as we want, but as You please, and help us to obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly and without grumbling, as it is fulfilled, with love and joy, by the holy angels in heaven . Because only You know what is useful and necessary for us, and You wish us well more than we ourselves.
Give us our daily bread today - that is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread. Bread here means everything necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, shelter, but most important of all is the Most Pure Body and Precious Blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, without which there is no salvation in eternal life. The Lord commanded us to ask ourselves not for wealth, not for luxury, but only for the bare necessities, and to rely on God in everything, remembering that He, as a Father, always takes care of us.
And leave us our debts, just as we leave our debtors ("debts" – sins;"our debtor"– those people who have sinned against us) - that is, forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive those who offended or offended us. In this petition, our sins are called our debts, because the Lord gave us strength, abilities and everything else in order to do good deeds, and we often turn all this into sin and evil and become debtors to God. And if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our debtors, that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this.
And lead us not into temptation - temptations is such a state when something or someone draws us to sin, tempts us to do something lawless or bad. We ask - do not allow the temptation that we cannot bear, help us overcome temptations when they occur.
But deliver us from the evil one - that is, deliver us from all evil in this world and from the culprit (chief) of evil - from the devil (evil spirit), who is always ready to destroy us. Deliver us from this cunning, crafty power and its deceptions, which is nothing before you.
OUR PATHER - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
The Lord's Prayer is also called the Lord's Prayer, because Christ Himself gave it to the apostles in response to their request: "teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Today, Christians say this prayer every day in the morning and evening rules; in churches during the Liturgy, all parishioners sing it aloud. But, unfortunately, often repeating a prayer, we do not always comprehend, but what exactly is behind her words?
"Our Father, who art in heaven"
1. We call God the Father because He created us all?
No, for this reason we can call Him - Creator, or - Creator. The appeal Father implies a well-defined personal relationship between children and the Father, which should 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 fulfill the desires of your father(John 8:44). The Jews of the Old Testament lost the right to call God the Father. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this bitterly: And I said: ... you will call Me your father and you will not depart from Me. But verily, as a wife treacherously betrays her friend, so ye house of Israel have dealt treacherously with me, says the Lord. …Return, 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 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 the Father. He gave this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they departed from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted the forgetfulness of insults and the communion of grace.
2. Why "Our Father" and not "mine"? After all, it would seem that what could be more personal 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 prayers for the whole human race and never have in mind your own benefits, but always try for the benefits of your neighbor. And in this way it 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 an equal share in the highest and most necessary affairs..
3. 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. The mention of Heaven in prayer helps to divert our mind from the earthly and direct it to the Heavenly.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
8. Does God forgive sins only for those who themselves have forgiven their offenders? Why shouldn't he forgive everyone?
God is not inherent in resentment and revenge. 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 misfortunes 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, knowing this commandment, we 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 refuse it 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 God is not to blame for this, but we ourselves.
Saint John Chrysostom: “This absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced against us lies in our power. So that none of the foolish, being condemned for a great or small crime, has reason to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the most guilty, a judge of himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment you yourself will pronounce about yourself, the same judgment and I I will speak about you; if you forgive your fellow man, you will receive the same benefit from me.”.
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"
9. Does God tempt or lead anyone into temptation?
God, of course, does not tempt anyone. But we cannot overcome temptations without His help. If, however, while receiving this grace-filled help, we 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 by bitter experience of our own powerlessness before sin, and again turn to Him for help.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk: “With this word: “lead us not into temptation,” we pray to God that He save us by His grace from the temptation of the world, the flesh and the devil. And although we fall into temptations, we ask that you do not allow us to be defeated by them, but that you help us overcome and defeat them. This shows 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 the temptation that comes upon us, to immediately pray to God and ask Him for help. We learn from this not to rely on ourselves and our strength, but on God..
10. Who is this - crafty? Or is it crafty? How to understand this word in the context of prayer?
Word sly - Opposite in meaning straight . Onion (as a weapon) Ray ina river, the famous Pushkin onion Omorye - all these are words related to the word onion ave in the sense that they denote a certain curvature, something indirect, curved. In the Lord's Prayer, the devil is called evil, who was originally created by a bright angel, but by his falling away from God distorted his own nature, distorted its natural movements. Any of his actions also became distorted, that is, crafty, indirect, wrong.
Saint John Chrysostom: “Here Christ 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 that the devil is predominantly called evil, this is because of the extraordinary amount of evil that is in him, and because he, not being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us. Therefore, the Savior did not say: Deliver us “from the evil ones, but: from the stupid one,” and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes endure from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil, as the culprit of all angry".
The Lord's Prayer is also called the Lord's Prayer, because Christ Himself gave it to His disciples in response to: "teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
Christians say this prayer every day in the morning and evening rules, read it before meals, say it in churches, moreover, during the service, all parishioners sing it out loud. But, unfortunately, often repeating the words of a prayer, we do not always comprehend, but what exactly is behind her words? We have compiled 10 basic questions about the prayer "Our Father" and tried to answer them.
1. DO WE CALL GOD THE 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 Jews of the Old Testament lost the right to call God the Father. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this with bitterness: And I said: ... you will call me your father and you will not depart from me. But verily, as a wife treacherously betrays her friend, so ye house of Israel have dealt treacherously with me, says the Lord. …Return, rebellious children: I will heal your disobedience (Jer 3:20-22). However, the return of the rebellious children took place only with the coming of Christ. Through Him, God 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 the Father. He gave this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they departed from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted the forgetfulness of insults and the communion of grace.
2. WHY "OUR FATHER" AND NOT "MY"? WHAT COULD BE A MORE PERSONAL MATTER FOR A PERSON THAN APPEAL 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.
St. John Chrysostom: “... He does not say: My Father, Who art in Heaven,” but - Our Father, and thus commands prayers for the whole human race and never have in mind your own benefits, but always try for the benefits of your neighbor. And in this way it 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 an equal share in the highest and most necessary affairs.
3. WHY "IN HEAVEN" IF THE CHURCH TEACHES THAT GOD IS OVERVIEW?
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. The mention of Heaven in prayer helps to divert our mind from the earthly and direct it to the Heavenly.
St. John Chrysostom: “When the lord of Heaven speaks,” then with this word he does not imprison God in heaven, but distracts the prayer from the earth.
"Hallowed be thy name"
4. WHY SPECIFICALLY ASK FOR THIS IF GOD IS ALWAYS HOLY?
Yes, God is always holy, but we ourselves are far from always holy, although we call Him Father. But can children not be like the Father? “Hallowed be Thy 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 hallowed 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 be glorified by our life. Of this He said before: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). ... Vouchsafe us, - as if the Savior teaches us to pray in such a way, - to live so purely, so that through us all glorify You.
"Thy kingdom come"
5. WHAT KINGDOM IS WE TALKING ABOUT? WE ASK GOD TO BECOME THE WORLD KING?
Kingdom of God - words that simultaneously mean two concepts here:
1. The state of the renewed world after the end of the world and the Last Judgment, in which the people transformed by grace who inherited this Kingdom will live.
2. The state of a person who, by fulfilling the commandments of the Gospel, overcame the action of the passions, and through this 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 terrible judgment of God. But in order to sincerely desire the coming of this kingdom, we must be sure that we will be honored with it along with those to whom it will be said: come, bless 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 kingdom of sin, passions and the devil has been cut short. The suppression of this kingdom is accomplished by the action of grace through faith in the Lord Savior. The believer commits 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 a new life; from that moment it is no longer sin that reigns in him, but grace, teaching every good thing and strengthening him to do it. This is the kingdom of grace, of which the Lord said: The kingdom of God is within you. The future kingdom is the kingdom of glory, but this one is spiritual, it is the kingdom of grace. The prayer "Our Father" jointly encompasses both kingdoms. Otherwise, he who desires the speedy coming of the future kingdom, but who has not become a son of the kingdom of grace, will desire that the end of the world come soon, and the Last Judgment, at which he will inevitably be on the side of those who will hear: get away from Me curse into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his aggel."
"Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth"
6. DOES NOT GOD WORK WITHOUT SUCH OUR PLEASE IMPLEMENTING HIS WILL ON EARTH?
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, then 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 save us from such a disaster, and direct our lives towards the fulfillment of His good will.
Blessed Augustine: “Let Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Angels serve You in heaven, and we serve You on earth. The angels in heaven do not offend you, nor do we offend you on earth. How they do Your will; so do we. - And here what do we pray for, if not to be kind to us? For the will of God is then in us when we do it; and that is what it means to be kind.”
"Give us our daily bread today"
7. WHAT DO THE DAILY BREAD AND DAILY BREAD MEAN?
"Essential" means necessary for our existence; "today" means today. Thus, this is a petition for what we most need at this moment, for today. The holy fathers understood the word "bread" here in two meanings: bread as food; and bread as the Eucharist.
St. 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 it is also from You. Asking only for bread, we do not ask for anything superfluous, but only what is necessary for us for this day, since we have been taught not to worry about tomorrow either, because You care for us today, and you will be baked tomorrow and always.
But give us another daily bread, our daily bread - living, heavenly bread, the all-holy body of the living Word. This is daily bread: because it strengthens and sanctifies soul and body, and whoever does not eat it will not have life in himself, but whoever eats it will live forever (Jn 6:51-54).
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
8. GOD FORGIVES SINS ONLY TO THOSE WHO FORGIVE THEIR OFFENDERS HIMSELF? WHY SHOULD HE NOT FORGIVE EVERYONE AT ALL?
God is not inherent in resentment and revenge. 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 misfortunes 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, knowing this commandment, we 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 refuse it 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 God is not to blame for this, but we ourselves.
St. John Chrysostom: “This absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced against us lies in our power. So that none of the foolish, being condemned for a great or small crime, has reason to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the most guilty, a judge of himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment you yourself will pronounce about yourself, the same judgment and I I will speak about you; if you forgive your brother, you will receive the same benefit from me.”
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"
9. DOES GOD tempt or lead anyone into temptation?
God, of course, does not tempt anyone. But we cannot overcome temptations without His help. If, however, while receiving this grace-filled help, we 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 by bitter experience of our own powerlessness before sin, and again turn to Him for help.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk: “With this word: “lead us not into temptation,” we pray to God that He save us by His grace from the temptation of the world, the flesh and the devil. And although we fall into temptations, we ask that he not allow us to be defeated by them, but that he would help us to overcome and conquer them. This shows 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 the temptation that comes upon us, to immediately pray to God and ask Him for help. We learn from this not to rely on ourselves and our strength, but on God.
10. WHO IS THE EVIL? OR - EVIL? HOW TO UNDERSTAND THIS WORD IN THE CONTEXT OF PRAYER CORRECTLY?
The word crafty is the opposite in meaning to the word straight. A bow (as a weapon), a river bend, the famous Pushkin Lukomorie - all these are words related to the word crafty in the sense that they denote a certain curvature, something indirect, curved. In the Lord's Prayer, the devil is called evil, who was originally created by a bright angel, but by his falling away from God distorted his own nature, distorted its natural movements. Any of his actions also became distorted, that is, crafty, indirect, wrong.
St. John Chrysostom: “Here Christ 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 that the devil is predominantly called evil, this is because of the extraordinary amount of evil that is in him, and because he, not being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us. Therefore, the Savior did not say: Deliver us “from the evil ones, but: from the stupid one,” and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes endure from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil, as the culprit of all angry."