Salvation in the Lord's Prayer

This post is part of a series of posts on the topic of Salvation. Here is the introduction to the series.

Today I want to reflect on the picture of salvation that is given to us in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).

The Lord's Prayer is a great example not only of how to pray and what to pray for. It also reveals the heart of God, because in it Jesus is telling us what God cares about.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name" - It begins by reminding us of our place in the world. God is in heaven, we are not. (remember the point of the fall story.)

"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - The kingdom of God is meant to come on earth, it is not about getting to heaven. Salvation is therefore about this world, we are saved in the present not in the future. It also shows that salvation is meant for the whole of creation, not just humans getting to heaven.

"Give us today our daily bread" - When we reorient our lives towards God we find that God provides for us. But it is on his terms and not ours. God gives us what we need, not what we want. This may mean we have to go without, which doesn't sit well with our consumerist society.

"Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors." - We tend to think of salvation as being about God forgiving our sins. But it also about being able to forgive those around us. This heals both us and them and creates real community.

"And lead us not into to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." - God gives us the power to overcome the temptation that plague us as humans. We are no longer forced to live by selfish impulse.

Do you really want to join Jesus in this radical and subversive prayer?