The Lord's Prayer for Children

Recently, I had a very beautiful experience.

During a conversation about how to explain the Lord's Prayer to
a child, we began to reflect on the meaning of each phrase
of the prayer Jesus taught.

At first, I imagined it would be enough to
swap a few difficult words
for simpler ones.

I discovered it was not that simple.

For that reason, any adaptation
had to preserve the heart
of the prayer Jesus taught.

It was not enough to replace words.
We had to contemplate
the meaning of each phrase
and look for language that a
child could understand
without losing the depth of the text.

With each phrase, we asked a question:

That is how the prayer took shape.

It begins by contemplating who God is. Then it desires his rule,
trusts in his will,
asks for the food that comes from him,
recognizes the need for forgiveness
and ends by confessing our
dependence on him to be kept from evil.

Daddy in heaven,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.
Only the Lord is good.

May your rule come over all of us.
May your will be done, which is good, pleasing and perfect,
here on earth as it is done in heaven.

Give us today your Word, which is the truth.

Forgive our wrongs, just as we forgive those who wrong us.

Do not let us do our own will,
but deliver us from all evil.

Amen!

A prayer for teaching

Some people may prefer to keep using exactly
the words presented in the Bible.
That is very good.

This adaptation does not intend to replace the biblical text.
It can be used as a path for talking with children,
grandchildren or other kids about the meaning of each phrase.

When we say:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.
Only the Lord is good.”

we show the child that prayer does not begin with what
we want to receive. It begins by contemplating who God is.

When we ask:

“May your rule come over all of us.”

we teach that the Kingdom of God is not just a distant place.
It is the rule of the Lord, the sovereign over the Earth, over our life.

When we say:

“May your will be done.”

we recognize that the will of the Lord is good, pleasing and perfect,
even when we still cannot understand it.

When we ask:

“Give us today your Word, which is the truth.”

we recognize that we do not live only on the food placed on the table.
We also need the truth that comes from God.

When we say:

“Forgive our wrongs, just as we forgive those who wrong us.”

we teach something Jesus made a point of repeating right after the prayer:
we will not be forgiven by the Father while we refuse to forgive others.

And when we say:

“Do not let us do our own will,
but deliver us from all evil.”

we recognize that the danger is not only outside of us.
We also need to be kept from our own inclination
to do what is not good.

Without prejudice

Perhaps the word “prayer” stirs up resistance in some people.
Others may have hard memories tied to religion, to demands, or to teachings that produced fear.

But teaching a child to talk with God every day
does not have to mean teaching religious formalities.

It can simply mean helping them recognize that they are not alone,
that there is a Father, that good is not born from our own strength, and that we can ask for help to forgive, to choose what is good and not to be ruled by our own will.

The prayer can be read together with the child, phrase by phrase.
After each part, parents can listen to them, welcome their questions
and talk in a simple way, without turning this moment
into a lesson or an obligation.

Perhaps the child will not understand everything now.
We do not understand everything either.

But some words may stay with them for their whole life:
God is good, his will is good, his Word is the truth, we need to forgive, and we depend on him to be kept from evil.

And so be it!