“Dissecting” the Lord’s Prayer

Another very common prayer used in the rooms of AA is the Lord’s Prayer. This is most frequently used to close the meeting, with all standing and holding hands. Again, many simply recite the words with little or no thought as to what is being said or simply stand quietly. We tend to think ahead about the tasks in front of us or regret past errors. If we can, for a moment, shed the illusion of multitasking, perhaps this prayer can take on a much more prominent place in our lives – not just as an obligation.

Here’s a small sample of how some people look at part of this prayer in seeking understanding as to how they might achieve lasting sobriety:

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus was the master of brevity in His leadership, and often what He didn’t say, but implied, can lead us to the truth He wanted us to discover. In this case, when we utter the words, “Thy kingdom come,” we are also saying, “My kingdom needs to go!” When we say, “Thy will be done,” we mean, “My will should probably NOT be done.” I don’t know about anyone else, but this did not sit well with my ego-driven false self that I occupied while I was in my disease. I suspect it is true for pretty much all of us, whether you are in active addiction or not. We tend to think we know what plan would work out best for the world, and because you are reading a book like this, you probably have a strong sense that this is completely false.

We, as humans in the 21st century, are taught to be independent and to “look out for number one,” so we think we are in charge (or at least we think we should have control of everything around us). We struggle so hard to make that ideal come true, but it never really does, so we blame others or even blame God for not recognizing our obviously superior plans. To be more clear about this, when you say this beautiful prayer, think to yourself, or maybe even say out loud, “I’m not in control of pretty much anything. God is, and that’s a relief!”

This almost universal default thinking of humans is that since we are individuals, we have to make decisions that are to our advantage without really giving any thought to other people. This leads to self-centered decision-making in areas such as economics, the environment, people different from ourselves, and especially how we treat the poor and marginalized of our society. Spending time in prayer and meditation, considering the Good News of the gospels, gradually leads us to recognize how we are similar rather than focusing on the differences between us in this kingdom we are asking to be here on Earth. In God’s kingdom, we are all equally loved, and this phrase of the prayer asks for that to be the new way we live our lives.

(From Chapter 5 – The Lord’s Prayer)

While this book is about AA prayers, it will certainly add meaning to the prayer life of everyone who spends a little time with it. Please consider sharing it with everyone you care about, and buy several copies for gifting today!