“Lord, teach us how to pray.” Those are the words of an unidentified disciple in the gospel of Luke (11:1) The words from Jesus that followed, The Our Father, have become the prayer that all Christians pray. This prayer has successfully crossed all lines of much Christian division. It is prayed by all of the 27,000 Christian churches. They are the words of Jesus, so highly revered by us all.
Knowing how much these words are repeated, in my own experience, I try to make them more meaningful by praying them in different ways. One of the ways, which you will see here, is to concentrate a while on each word. Actually stop and meditate on one word at a time. This can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 40 days. The latter is what you will see in this book.
This 40 day method took me, day by day, through the Lenten season. Each day, I meditated on just one word, or group of words, for a few minutes. Then I began to write.
Those of you who journal, already know the value in writing down your thoughts. You can learn things about yourself when you just go, go, go with the pen, or the laptop, or whatever means you choose. Not only can you learn about yourself, but when you invite the Holy Spirit into your experience, you can also learn about what God might have in store for you.
Before seeing my thoughts, you will see the actual definitions of all of the words in the Our Father. There are numerous definitions for each of these words. Each one places a different twist to the word in the prayer. You will see all of the definitions here for that exact reason. Everyone’s interpretation of any given word is somewhat different. Therefore reading through them will perhaps, give you new insights to the prayer itself.

I now invite you into my journaling experience. I offer the suggestion of reading only one or two at a time so that you give the words and definitions time to steep in your head. That will allow you to see what inspirations they may hold for your life. Perhaps God will speak to you through each one as well as He did me. Perhaps He will answer some question that you have had. You may well be surprised at where each word has taken me, or where it will take you. Perhaps it will inspire you to begin your own journal in the same manner. Whichever it is for you, welcome!
The ending words, “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.” are not a part of this meditation. That call was made because those were not words spoken by Jesus, but were added later. As beautiful as they are, they are not studied here.
God speaks to all of us in a myriad of ways. Some people get burning bushes. Others tablets of stone. Yet others through what they read. Some just use a pen. More proof that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Deb Potts