Arthur Boers, in his book, Lord, Teach Us to Pray, A New Look at the Lord's Prayer offers some insight into the importance of learning the Lord's prayer and continuing to pray it into adulthood. He writes:
As I tell my children I love them, I also come to understand more and more what it means to have my parents love me. I find myself increasingly appreciating and loving my parents. Thus the meaning of saying "I love you" becomes deeper and richer all the time.
When we teach our children to say, "I love you" we cannot expect them to understand what they say. Yet it is not wrong to teach them the words. The words are true, even when not understood.
All my life I told my parents I loved them. It was always true, even though it becomes an increasingly complex reality. It was true when I was an accepting child. It was true when I was a rebellious adolescent. It is still true (only more so) now that I am an adult and myself a parent.
They are words that are always true and words that we can always grow into. As the years go by, we understand them better and better. As parents, we are in the best position to give to our children the words they need in our relationship.
The given prayers such as the Lord's Prayer, are much like the love formula taught to us by our parents. The Lord's Prayer is a gift. Its words help us when we are immature in our faith, and they are words that we can always grow into. Martin Luther said: "To this day I am still nursing myself on the Lord's Prayer like a child and am still eating and drinking of it like an old man without getting bored with it."
-Ruth Preston Schilk, "Persistence in prayer," www.telusplanet.net.
As I tell my children I love them, I also come to understand more and more what it means to have my parents love me. I find myself increasingly appreciating and loving my parents. Thus the meaning of saying "I love you" becomes deeper and richer all the time.
When we teach our children to say, "I love you" we cannot expect them to understand what they say. Yet it is not wrong to teach them the words. The words are true, even when not understood.
All my life I told my parents I loved them. It was always true, even though it becomes an increasingly complex reality. It was true when I was an accepting child. It was true when I was a rebellious adolescent. It is still true (only more so) now that I am an adult and myself a parent.
They are words that are always true and words that we can always grow into. As the years go by, we understand them better and better. As parents, we are in the best position to give to our children the words they need in our relationship.
The given prayers such as the Lord's Prayer, are much like the love formula taught to us by our parents. The Lord's Prayer is a gift. Its words help us when we are immature in our faith, and they are words that we can always grow into. Martin Luther said: "To this day I am still nursing myself on the Lord's Prayer like a child and am still eating and drinking of it like an old man without getting bored with it."
-Ruth Preston Schilk, "Persistence in prayer," www.telusplanet.net.
