“Give us this day our daily bread”:  When you pray for God to provide for your daily needs, you recognize your absolute dependency and existential poverty before God.  He has given you everything – from your looks and personality, to your friends and job, and even the air you breathe when you take your next breath.  Through teaching you to pray for something as ordinary as bread, Christ teaches you that no concern is too trivial to place before God.  Pray about everything that concerns you – no matter how insignificant it may seem – trusting that God cares and will answer in His way and in His time.  Pray for humility and childlike faith in God’s providence.  Then seek to become what you receive, by serving others every day so God can use you to help meet their needs through your life.  Volunteer at a food bank or hospital.  Visit lonely people in nursing homes.  Tutor children who are struggling in school.  The possibilities for you to help bring “daily bread” to others are endless.

“Forgive us our trespasses”:  God will free you from debilitating guilt when you pray for forgiveness.  No sin is written in indelible ink.  God’s mercy has no limits.  He will respond to your prayers for forgiveness by forgetting the past, welcoming you home with arms opened wide, and giving you the strength to help you move forward well.

“As we forgive those who trespass against us”:  Let your gratitude for God’s forgiveness of your own sins motivate you to obey His call to forgive others who have hurt or offended you.  Pray for the ability to avoid judging and condemning others, and the grace to break free of poisonous bitterness.  Rely on God to help you through the forgiveness process; remember that it’s always possible to forgive – despite your feelings – with God’s help.  Pursue inner healing by: remembering that Christ is always with you offering love and compassion, taking a fresh look at the past event and the feelings it raised inside of you (through praying about it and talking about it with people you trust, like friends, a counselor or a support group), step through your pain to temporarily put yourself in the place of the one who hurt or offended you so you can better understand that person’s heart and the brokenness in his or her life, asking Christ to do His healing work in your heart, and letting your healing lead you to greater compassion for others who are struggling and motivate you to reach out to them to help.

“Lead us not into temptation”:  Resist evil thoughts that attack your mind, affecting every part of your life.  Pray for the strength to counter tempting thoughts with corresponding saving virtues, turning the temptation of food to self-control, sex to chastity, material things to generosity, anger to patience, dejection to diligence, laziness to perseverance, vanity to humility, and pride to charity.  Scrutinize the motivations behind your feelings and desires.  Overcome evil with good through the power God will give you when you pray.

“Deliver us from evil”:  Encountering spiritual darkness can purify you from your ego and help transform you into a person who’s more like Christ.  When your faith is tested, you’re challenged to surrender to God with trust, and when you do, He will give you greater faith.  Respond to despair by crying out to God for the hope He offers you.  You can always count on God to deliver the hope you need in any situation.

Adapted from Living the Lord’s Prayer: The Way of the Disciple, copyright 2009 by Albert Haase, O.F.M. Published by IVP Books, a division of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, www.ivpress.com. 
Albert Haase, O.F.M. (Ph.D., Fordham University; M.Div., Catholic Theological Union), is adjunct professor of spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. He previously served as director of the School of Spirituality at Mayslake Ministries in Lombard, Illinois. Currently he does spiritual direction and leads retreats and parish missions from the St. Gratian Friary in Countryside, IL. He is author of Enkindled: Holy Spirit, Holy Gifts (with Bridget Haase, O.S.U.) and Instruments of Christ: Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is a former missionary to mainland China. 

Original publication date: July 2, 2009