The most important part of "The Lord's Prayer"

(Copyright July, 2010, R.J. Gardner)

(Permission granted to Copy but Not Edit)

What is not the most important part of "The Lord's Prayer" is this:

It is not being seen among other people when doing it.

It is not holding some object in our hands.

It is not assuming ourselves in some peculiar physical shape or contortion.

It is not loud talking.

It is not wordy or lengthy praising.

It is not naming Names incessantly.

It is not vain or repetitious requesting.

It is not useless asking.

The most important part of "The Lord's Prayer" is this:

Do Not tell Him what He already knows.

He knows He is our Father;

He knows He is in Heaven;

He knows His Sacred Name is hallowed;

He knows His Kingdom has, is, and will, come;

He knows He gives us our Bread every day;

He knows all He does has been, and is being, done on earth as it is in heaven;

He knows He leads us into Temptation, whether we know it or not, and whether we want it or not (He will do it anyway, for our own learning);

He knows He will Deliver us from Evil (when we deserve it, and even when we don't deserve it, or when we don’t know we deserve it; or when we ask for it, or don’t ask for it);

He knows this is His Kingdom;

He knows He is the Power;

He knows He has the Glory;

He knows He, and these Attributes, will be Forever and Ever.

So why bother Him with all these Known details?

The one and only part of The Lord's Prayer we need to know, and the only one we need to acknowledge, is this:

"Thy Will be Done."

That is all we need to know; and that is all we need to ask for, and all we need to expect and to accept.

All that other stuff is merely superfluous, gratutous, fawning, and not at all needed. In some circumstances, it might even be a provocation to the One to whom we pray.

Expecting His Will to be Done, and Accepting His Will having been Done, or being Done, or will be Done, is all we can do, and that is all we must do.

Asking for anything more, or asking for anything less, or not asking for anything at all when we ought to ask, means we ought to be irritating Him.

And, for all this, that one line, of: "Thy Will be Done," is the only one we need to address, and fervently so; it is also the most difficult part of that same Prayer.

Because if it is truly His Will, and if It is truly to be Done, then it shall be Done.

And when Done, it may not be to our liking. Yet it will be Done.

It may not be Done when we want it Done, but it will be Done.

So if we Ask for it, we should expect it, and when it comes to us, we should accept it, whether favorable or not.

Any more than this, or any less than this, and we defy the purposes of the Prayer we offer, and we defy the God to whom we offer that Prayer.

It behooves the one praying to receive the Answer to that Prayer, whether it be pleasing or not; for the Sender must have the Message delivered.

And, that which is least pleasing is often the most profitable; profitable for ourselves now, and our salvation, perhaps later.

Dwell on this subtle yet important point, for a moment.