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People pray all over the world. But what good does it really do? “If we are truly praying this prayer to God’s honour, we can never simply pray for food for ourselves. We must pray for the needs of the whole world, where millions go hungry and many starve.” This is part of N.T. Wright’s reflection on the Matthean “Lord’s Prayer.” It is referring, of course, to “give us this day our daily bread.”  It’s an odd observation because a cursory reading of the text doesn’t necessarily lead to you think about praying for the needs of the whole world, right? But read it in the overall flow of the passage, just after an admonishment to seek the Kingdom of God (the reality of God’s activity that Jesus is constantly proclaiming) and right before drawing a strong correlation between the way we give and get forgiveness.  And when we’re asked to pray ” give us,” who is “us” anyways? I would say that, as we participate in this practice of prayer, we are seeking to align ourselves with God. To align ourselves with the Kingdom of God for the world, to align ourselves with forgiveness for the world, and to align ourselves with bread for the world.  Our prayers should be effective. They should be powerful. They should matter. They should matter because prayer is about us yielding ourselves.  About getting out of the way.  And letting the Kingdom of God burst forth.  Prayer should be the heartbeat of our spiritual formation, as we are being restored from broken-to-Jesus.  The Kingdom of God is breaking forth where broken-but-hopeful humans, once focused on their own gluttony, are being transformed into the New Humanity—bringing peace, forgiveness, and even food to those without. 

People pray all over the world. But what good does it really do?

“If we are truly praying this prayer to God’s honour, we can never simply pray for food for ourselves. We must pray for the needs of the whole world, where millions go hungry and many starve.”

This is part of N.T. Wright’s reflection on the Matthean “Lord’s Prayer.” It is referring, of course, to “give us this day our daily bread.” 

It’s an odd observation because a cursory reading of the text doesn’t necessarily lead to you think about praying for the needs of the whole world, right?

But read it in the overall flow of the passage, just after an admonishment to seek the Kingdom of God (the reality of God’s activity that Jesus is constantly proclaiming) and right before drawing a strong correlation between the way we give and get forgiveness. 

And when we’re asked to pray ” give us,” who is “us” anyways?

I would say that, as we participate in this practice of prayer, we are seeking to align ourselves with God.

To align ourselves with the Kingdom of God for the world, to align ourselves with forgiveness for the world, and to align ourselves with bread for the world. 

Our prayers should be effective. They should be powerful. They should matter.

They should matter because prayer is about us yielding ourselves. 

About getting out of the way. 

And letting the Kingdom of God burst forth. 

Prayer should be the heartbeat of our spiritual formation, as we are being restored from broken-to-Jesus. 

The Kingdom of God is breaking forth where broken-but-hopeful humans, once focused on their own gluttony, are being transformed into the New Humanity—bringing peace, forgiveness, and even food to those without.