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Engaging the Scriptures
In several "Daily Word" articles, I’ve written about visualizing scenes when I read Scripture. That has become an important spiritual practice for me — requiring a conscious effort to slow down, savor what’s there and engage my holy imagination. Other times, I reference multiple translations of the Bible and commentaries to help me learn contextual information or understand more fully what a passage means. A third technique involves meditating on a passage and allowing the Spirit to illuminate and expand it for me.
How do you engage this ancient text?
Today, I’d like to leave you with an example of the third technique, using selected sentences from the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Abba Father. You are the holy one. Your name is higher than any other name. It is the name above all names. It is the name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You are King of kings and Lord of lords. At the mention of Your name, evil flees. At the mention of Your name, angels and archangels and all the company of heaven bow, saying “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
May Your kingdom that brings peace, joy, and righteousness invade our hearts and flood the earth. Let the kingdom come where there is no war or rumor of war. Bring the kingdom where the lion lays down with the lamb. Even as there are no tears or sorrow in heaven, let that kingdom come to earth. Let Your will be done.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
O, God, we are dust. We are frail. We are weak. Be mindful of our frame. Let not the weight of sin and temptation be so great as to overtake us. Save us from the wiles of the enemy of our soul who whispers lies, accusing us night and day. Help us take up the shield of faith with which we can extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. Grant us the ability to pray at all times in the Spirit.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Yours is the only kingdom worthy of glory. Hasten the coming of Your kingdom, Your purpose, Your will. May the glimpse we had of Your kingdom through your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, come into full view for us. May the power that raised Jesus from the dead also raise us to new life in You. May the unveiled power of Your Holy Spirit fall on us, transform us and draw us to You. May we stand with all the saints who forever declare Your glory. You alone are worthy forever and ever, O God. Amen.
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