I’ve been praying a lot lately.   Prayer is part of the rhythmn of my every day life and ministry.   It’s just that there have been so many things going on that I’ve been drawn to pray more often.

The massive oil spill in the Gulf.

Car bomb in New York city.

Endless war and conflict in the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Police Officer murdered in Maplewood.

Church members, family members, and friends struggling with pain, diseases, addictions, unemployment, under-umployment, and the hard realities of being mortal creatures.  And so I pray. 

And we, whether we are directly related and connected, or not, are led wonder, “God, where are you?  Why do bad things happen to good people?”  These are not questions of unbelief and doubt, but deep questions of faith and life.  And not only questions, but they can be our prayer of lament and our prayer for help and guidance.

Yet I am finding that often when I can’t find my own words to pray, or my words seem so small and incapable of containing the feelings of my soul, I just pray the prayer Jesus gave us to pray.  Not once or twice, but over and over again in my head, while I’m in the car, at church, or at home.  These words both come forth from deep within me and penetrate the darkest parts of my soul, and give me the peace that passes all understanding. 

Within this prayer, Jesus gave us words to pray regarding the evil and sinfulness of the world.  Many of us have been praying these words since we were young.  But to add a little depth to your prayer, and a reminder (for those who have been through Confirmation), I share with you these added explanations from an old pastor named Martin, for you to ponder while you pray these seemingly simple word from our Lord and Savior.

Lead us not into temptation!  “What does this mean?  God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins.  And we pray that though we are so tempted we may still win the final victory.”

Deliver us from evil!  “We ask in this inclusive prayer that our heavenly Father would save us from every evil to body and soul, and at our last hour would mercifully take us from the troubles of this world to himself in heaven.”

When you can’t seem to find the words to pray, perhaps it is best to go back to the basics, to pray like Jesus taught us to pray.