The
Our
Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Our
–pronoun
(a form of the possessive case of we used as an attributive adjective):
Compare OURS to me
Me–pronoun
1.the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.

When something is ours, as opposed to mine, there is an implied ownership belonging to many rather than to one. The use of the word, “our”, in the Our Father then, makes us no longer individuals dealing with God, but a group of individuals dealing with God. Just by the mere use of the word, we are no longer alone. We belong to something much bigger than ourselves alone. We belong to a family. It is the family of the Church. It is the family of all Christians. It is the family of man.
Imagine for a moment that when the disciples asked Jesus, “How are we to pray, Lord?” That He answered, “My Father who art in heaven.” It would have changed the entire feeling of the prayer. It would then have been about “Me” and “Me” alone.
Some of us might think that that would be a good thing. That may be the case, but look at what happens when we start to say, ”Give me this day my daily bread? Wow, now it is really starting to sound more and more selfish. It seems to no longer be a prayer, but turns, more or less, into a demand.
When Jesus gave the word “Our” at the beginning of The Lord’s Prayer, he certainly knew what He was doing! He had us stand together instead of apart. He connected us to one another instead of separating us from one another. He gave us a family in which to pray, together. And we all know that the family that prays together stays together.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us one another. Whose Father is he anyway? Why, he’s ours.