Staci Currant was the minister of the Celebration Congregation at First United Methodist Church here in Seattle when she showed me a copy of the Lord’s Prayer that somebody had re-cast in modern terms. I found that the old thoughts in new words really helped me see the prayer in a new light.
The more I studied it, though, the more I realized that the writers had made mistakes. “Thy will be done” became “Your will is done” and “Give us this day our daily bread” became “You supply our daily needs.”
But “Thy will be done” is not a statement, it’s a wish. “Give us . . . our bread” is a request, not a fact. So, I decided that the idea was strong, but the execution was weak, and re-wrote the Prayer myself. I believe it to be more true to the spirit of the original, and is offered up here to any and all who desire to read it, in the hopes that, whether you know or believe in the Lord’s Prayer, you find some value in this version.
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The Lord’s Prayer |
While reading it aloud to myself, I realized that the use of the plural is rather distancing. I find singular pronouns more compelling, and more personal, thus:
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The Lord’s Prayer |
—Dave Howell
March 27th, 2000
It’s now some years later, and a spectacular credo by Teresa Nielsen Hayden has prompted me to tinker with the wording a bit.
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The Lord’s Prayer |
—Dave Howell
April 15th, 2004
Two closing notes: First, you hopefully weren’t especially aware that this
version does not assign
a gender to God. I was very pleased the words allowed what English is loathe to permit.
Second, regrettably, I must point out that this text is copyright 2000, 2004 by Dave Howell, and all rights are reserved.
If you wish to reproduce it anywhere, please contact me at
dh.prayer@howell.seattle.wa.us. Thank you.