I thought at some stage this year in Things Unseen, we ought to spend a week at least thinking about the Lord's Prayer.

And this is that week.

And I know it's just possible that your immediate reaction might be, oh, no, not

the Lord's prayer again. And I understand that. Many of us say it every week in church. Some

of us maybe say it privately every day, since we're supposed to pray for our daily bread.

So from that point of view, we might feel that we are very familiar with the Lord's Prayer.

And I don't expect that I'll say anything that's new or fresh or especially insightful this week.

But the Lord's prayer is very, very fundamental to our Christian life, because it's

not only a prayer, it's actually a prayer that reflects a very basic guide to living the Christian

life. But before we get into it, maybe I should try and clear up a misunderstanding.

People sometimes say we shouldn't use these words because it's insincere to use someone

else's words when you pray.

But that's kind of odd, isn't it?

Don't we sing someone else's words in church?

And don't the songs that we sing, even if we are in a church that sings only Psalms,

don't the songs that we sing reflect the words of the Lord's Prayer in different ways?

I remember someone complaining to me about the introduction of a

confession of sin into the liturgy of worship because they said it isn't sincere to confess

your sins using someone else's words. And yet I knew the same person heartily and cheerfully

sang top ladies' hymn, Rock of Ages cleft from me, let me hide myself in thee,

and each time would sing foul and fool of sin, I am, and confess their sins in someone else's words.

So it's appropriate that we use someone else's words, especially when they're the words

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