A couple weeks ago, David gave those of us at our office morning prayer a fresh idea on how to think about the Lord's Prayer. He asked us how much thought we've put into the "our" and "we" parts of it. When you pray the Lord's Prayer together with a group, try thinking of yourselves really as one body instead of individuals. When one of us trespasses, we all do. When one of us forgives, we all do. As a body, we accept responsibility for one another. What we do affects those around us. We suffer for the sake of one another, and we rejoice too with each other. Do you consider that as you are praying the Lord's Prayer?
On a separate note, I have a very small prayer, from part of the Lord's Prayer, that I use with varying frequency day to day. It is often the case that even though I know the right thing to do with my time, I am lazy or undisciplined or exhibitive of any number of the vices. It can be overwhelming to consider the vast distance between what I'm doing or have done, and what I ought to be doing or have done. One solution that I use, that follows the "baby steps" mentality, is to adjust the "Give us this day" portion of the Lord's Prayer, and pray instead for "This [smallest unit of time for which I need help or courage or stamina]". That usually means "this hour". I don't particularly pray the whole prayer, I just pray those two words, and they often help to dispel my sloth. It's sort of like the burst of energy you get in the last mile of a race. But it's also a prayer.
On a separate note, I have a very small prayer, from part of the Lord's Prayer, that I use with varying frequency day to day. It is often the case that even though I know the right thing to do with my time, I am lazy or undisciplined or exhibitive of any number of the vices. It can be overwhelming to consider the vast distance between what I'm doing or have done, and what I ought to be doing or have done. One solution that I use, that follows the "baby steps" mentality, is to adjust the "Give us this day" portion of the Lord's Prayer, and pray instead for "This [smallest unit of time for which I need help or courage or stamina]". That usually means "this hour". I don't particularly pray the whole prayer, I just pray those two words, and they often help to dispel my sloth. It's sort of like the burst of energy you get in the last mile of a race. But it's also a prayer.