There is no "Lord's Prayer". Yet AA, which goes out of its way not to alienate anyone by appealing to the revealed God in the Bible, relies on text from the Scriptures. When doing so, the writers of the Big Book still took the Scripture out of context.
Religious custom has turned the outline for prayer which Jesus provided into a mantra, which even Jesus rebuked:
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name." (Matthew 6: 9)
"After this manner" is the pertinent element. We speak to God as our Father, not some distant potentate. We ask Him to meet our needs. Yet unlike the outline provided by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, a prayer which he prayed before dying on the Cross, we do not forgive others in order to be forgiven, for Paul indicates twice in his epistles that we forgive others just as Christ has forgiven us. His act of love on the Cross prompts us to release others from our emotional bondage!
Jesus also rebuked the notion of repeating a prayer:
"But when ye pray, use
not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking. " (Matthew 6: 7)
Religious ceremonies still repeat prayers over and over, as if we can move God with all of our talk. He wants us to speak to Him, not just talk at Him.
For all of its efforts to minimize religious typology in their books, Alcoholics Anonymous members will mumble these prayers in vain repetitions.
Yes, but does not the Lord say "Pray after this MANNER". I believe He gave us an out line were with we must patern our prayers after. Also I kinda believe that we do turn the Lords prayer into a vain repetition @ the close of every single AA meeting. But I am sure it would be okay. Lest I go to hell for saying this, ooops!
ReplyDeleteChrist and Him Crucified -- It's all about Him!
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, taking any Scripture without Him at the center is an inevitable distortion.