The
Disciples’ Prayer
.
by Bob Tedesco
Introduction
Over the years there have been enough discussions
about whether it’s the Lord’s Prayer or the
disciples’ prayer. I am not sure how the ancient
Aramaic would have translated; but in English, all
the pronouns are presented as plural, and that
implies something corporate. It also seems to
invite praying it together. Jesus created the
prayer, and in that sense, it is his. But the
words he used are more appropriate for the
disciples, hence the title of this article…which
supports the focus of this book. However,
reigniting this discussion is not the purpose of
this article, and we will call it the Lord’s
Prayer in deference to Christian tradition.
It is also worth noting that as a rote prayer it
takes about twenty seconds to recite and maybe two
or three minutes to sing. It seems strange that a
request, “Lord teach us to pray”, would be
answered with a twenty second prayer or a
three-minute song. These men had watched Jesus go
off alone in order to pray for long hours or
perhaps even overnight. It seems as though he got
energy, inspiration and insight for the next day’s
work from the time spent with his Father in
prayer. It’s probably the case that the disciples
wanted that result from prayer, but they did not
know how to go about it. As we examine it we find
some interesting points to ponder…
The prayer can be seen in two
parts: part number one has a focus on the Lord
and part number two addresses our needs and
concerns. So, God and man…a pattern seen in the
Ten Commandments. *
*[And in the
Two Great Commandments - Matthew 22:37-40]
The prayer can also be seen as a set of seven
petitions: three addressing our relationship with
the Lord and four which address our relationship
with the Body of Christ, the church. Another
interesting point is that many of the phrases can
have similarities seen in traditional Jewish
prayers. For example, “Our Father, who art in
heaven” is a common phrase at the beginning of
Hebrew prayers.1
There are types of prayer (petition, thanksgiving,
praise, etc.) and also levels of prayer (rote,
spontaneous, meditation, contemplative,
etc.) The prayer given to the disciples by
Jesus has elements of special concern to a
disciple: ushering in God’s kingdom where the will
of God will be accomplished; being forgiving, free
from the influence of the enemy and deliverance
from the evil one. Also, we’d like to be
reasonably fed while we’re doing the work! The
approach below blends hallowing the name(s) of God
with the needs of the disciples as they labor. For
example, “The Lord is my Healer” recognizes who he
is, what he does and how we need his healing.
Many Christian teachers have presented the Lord’s
Prayer as a set of topics to be covered in prayer.
One such teacher, Pastor Bob Wilhite, has noted
that it was a common practice for rabbis to
present a collection of topics to be addressed in
prayer. It may have been a practice necessitated
by the shortage and expense of writing
material…papyrus, ink, etc. Pastor Wilhite
had developed a very complete approach to praying
the “Our Father” and much of the following
material is inspired or leans heavily on his work.
The main thing is that we will separate the prayer
topically and suggest ways to pray the topics.
They are easily expanded or contracted as needed
for the individual. As topics, they can be prayed
throughout the day or at a single prayer time.
They are even suitable for praying while covering
a long drive to work, or while enduring a lengthy
MRI (medical procedure). * It works very well
when prayed together in a group.
*[This approach
slows down the pace of the prayer and can be
adjusted to a desired period.]
Praying the Lord’s
Prayer
Praise
This time of prayer works well when begun and
ended with a spontaneous time of praise. As we are
able, we enter his courts with thanksgiving and
praise.
Our…
From the opening word we are reminded of the
corporate nature of Christianity. In the modern
world, so much of what we read and interpret is
from the individual’s viewpoint. Many stories and
verses of scripture are not properly understood if
read from an individualistic point of view.
Father …
We are individually part of an eternal family. We
are truly brothers and sisters and in this part of
the prayer we express gratitude for the people
that he has joined with us.
Hallowed Be Thy
Name…
In this section, we reverence the name of God. We
consider the many scriptural titles,
and praise his name:
Yahweh Tsidkenu: The Lord our
Righteousness “Lord, may our people grow
in righteousness under your care…” (statements
in quotes may be personalized).
Yahweh M’Kaddesh: The Lord our
Sanctifier “Lord, may our lives be
set apart and thereby be holy. Lord may our
hearts, postures, jobs, etc. be set apart for
you and thereby be holy. Lord, especially may
our decisions be set apart for you and your
kingdom and thereby be holy.”
Yahweh Shalom: The Lord is our Peace
(Pray for peace in the relationships near you or
those that you know to need the Lord’s peace.)
Yahweh Shammah: The Lord is Present (As
we thank and praise him for his nearness, his
availability to his people, we can also
intercede that he be especially present at an
upcoming event or meeting.)
Yahweh Rophe: The Lord our Healer (We can
thank and praise him for the health and healing
we have had; we can intercede for the health of
those around us and in the body that we belong
to.)
Yahweh Jireh: The Lord is our Provision
(We can thank and praise him for all the ways he
has provided for us, our families, our
communities.)
Yahweh Nissi: The Lord is my Banner (We
pray that the Lord is evident at some event,
gathering or even a family gathering. We pray
that his banner is raised high. We raise the
flag of the kingdom of God!)
Yahweh Rohi: The Lord is my Shepherd (We
can pray that the Lord rules over us, that he
leads us and that he feeds us. We can pray to be
able to recognize his voice.)
Thy Kingdom
Come, Thy Will Be Done…
This section is crucial: it is the posture and
life’s work of the disciple…to build the kingdom
of God and to be the kingdom of God. What is the
kingdom of God? It is the people who worship him,
are dedicated to him and receive their marching
orders from him…the people who do his will.
So, we pray for ourselves first that we would be
kingdom centered. We pray also for our family and
the Christian body that we are a part of…that the
kingdom would be increasingly manifest in our life
together.
Give us this
Day Our Daily Bread…
In this section we pray for our needs. Notice that
it’s our needs, not just my needs.
And Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Our
Debtors…
Another crucial phase is “…as we…”. As we
pray this prayer regularly, we are only asking the
Lord to forgive us to the extent that we forgive
others. If we are holding grudges, we are inviting
the Lord to withhold his forgiveness of our sin.
Becoming a forgiving person should be high on our
list of personal development and growth. It’s the
safest, sanest, wisest approach to life. It’s
scriptural; it’s life-giving.
And Lead Us Not
into Temptation but Deliver Us from Evil…
We pray here for oppressions and obsessions to be
lifted (if they are present) and we pray for
deliverance. Again, it’s for us, not just
me.
We then put on the whole armor of God as in
Ephesians 6 when Paul warns us that we are in an
actual war with the “spiritual hosts of
wickedness” (vs. 12), Ephesians 6:14-17:
Stand therefore, having girded your
loins with truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, and having shod
your feet with the equipment of the gospel of
peace; besides all these, taking the shield of
faith, with which you can quench all the
flaming darts of the evil one. And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
spirit, which is the word of God.
We then pray a “hedge of protection” around our
family and our people.
Hast thou not put a hedge
about him and his house and all that he has, one
every side? Job 1:10.
For Thine Is
the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory
Forever. Amen.
This doxology leads into a time of free praise,
praying in the Spirit or singing in the Spirit.
Closing
There is much you could say about the disciple’s
prayer. It has the advantage of already
having been committed to memory, so the structure
is in place. We need only to customize it to fit
our needs or our circumstances. There are many
types and approaches. 2
This one has the distinction of having been given
to us by the one who called us into discipleship!
---------------------------------
1 David H. Stern (1992) Jewish
New Testament Commentary, p.32
2 Possible as the different
approaches can be highlighted and developed.
Each topic presented can also be approached at
different levels of prayer (rote, meditation,
contemplation).
The Disciples
Prayer (c) by Bob Tedesco is featured in
his newly published book, Choosing
Discipleship, 2019, published by
Credo House Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Bob
Tedesco is the founder of the People
of God, a
Sword of the Spirit community in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA where he
served as Senior Coordinator for 26
years. He has been involved in lay
ministry for over forty-five years,
serving in the Sword of the Spirit as
the North American Regional President
and Chairman of the Board of Directors
of the North American Executive
Committee.
Bob is the author of two books, Essays
on Christian Community and Choosing
Discipleship. and forty-one
Christian life articles published in
the Sword of the Spirit international
online magazine, Living Bulwark.
He has a BS in Aerospace Engineering
from the University of Pittsburgh and
worked as a consulting engineer for
twenty years. He and his wife, Bobbie,
have been married for nearly sixty
years. They currently have ten
children, thirty-seven grandchildren,
and eleven great-grandchildren. They
reside in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania,
USA.
Choosing Discipleship
Embracing
the Call in a Modern Culture
by Bob Tedesco
163 pages
Published in 2019 by Credo
House Publishers,Grand Rapids, Michigan,
USA
The
book is available in print at Amazon and Credo
House Publishers.
Choosing Discipleship
is an excellent book and very
helpful for keeping some key issues
before us in a compact way. It is very
useful, easy to ponder, and easy to teach
from. It is a great resource...
personally; I liked the style you used...
it relates to the busyness of our culture.
Bill
Durrant, Founder, People of God’s
Love Community, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Excellent pastoral material and also well
written. It’s a tremendous contribution to
the Sword of the Spirit worldwide and the
wider church as well... Seasoned leaders,
parents, pastoral workers, and community
members need to be refreshed and learn
again (and again) the vision and sound
principles and wisdom you have taught over
the past few decades... It will continue
to be circulated to many communities and
individuals for generations to come.
Don
Schwager, Editor, The Living
Bulwark, international online magazine of
the Sword of the Spirit
Typing the manuscript for Choosing
Discipleship over the course
of a summer felt like being on an
extended retreat! My own life of
discipleship and my understanding of what
God is doing in the world today has been
significantly influenced by Bob’s clear
vision, insight, and wisdom... The impact
he has had both as a community builder and
author has stretched across continents,
and I suspect his influence will be felt
for many years to come.
Joanie
Nath, Senior Women’s Leader, People
of God Community, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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