“Give us this day our daily bread”

After making all the vows we discussed earlier, here comes the very first supplication.

This can be taken as a pointer to another Law of the Creator- the Law of Equilibrium. This Law prescribes that it is in giving that we receive. He who has not given also has not established a right to take. Applying this fundamental principle to our lives has the result of bringing harmony in our various relationships.

But when it comes to man’s attitude towards his Creator, it boils down to making one demand after another. It appears that man only thinks of the Almighty when he wants to beg for something. Many a man thinks only of taking and grabbing, giving no thought whatever to how he may serve and contribute positively. In fact many think they serve the Almighty just because they beg for this and that – all to satisfy their selfish needs regardless of what the Will of the Lord is!

However, “Give us this day our daily bread” should come from deep within our non-demanding humble hearts saying that – on fulfilling what we have promised, the Lord’s blessings be allowed to rest on our earthly work so that , in attending to our physical needs , we may always retain the time to live according to God’s Will.

“Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”

This sentence is an assurance that the human being will strive earnestly to recognise the Will of God and then abide with It.

But how can one abide with what one does not even know. How many people make an effort to recognise the Will of the Lord, which unshakable Will rules the world? Anyone who has not done this and says this prayer simply utters a lie and holds himself before his Creator as a despicable hypocrite!

Let us therefore ardently strive to recognise the Laws of our Maker and adjust ourselves strictly to It in our intuitive perceptions, thoughts, words and actions. That is the way we will be able to do His Will on earth as it is done Above. Then we will be able to say this prayer without committing a sin thereby!

"Thy Kingdom come"

Here we see another vow! A solemn promise that we will develop ourselves by obeying God's Commandments such that His Perfect Kingdom will also be established here on earth. When we live in obedience to the Almighty, then life on earth can only reflect what obtains in the Heavenly Kingdom where the matured spirits free from guilt and burdens only live to serve God's Will.

So when we say this prayer we are saying that we will live such that we fulfil only The Lord's Will as obtains Above. Of course a life based on such a principle can only bring in its train human beings who live to bring joy,peace and love to their neighbours.

May we live in this way...

"Hallowed be Thy Name"

When we say this sentence we are actually giving our assurances to our Creator that we take everything we wish to say to Him seriously and will not dare come before Him or call on Him in superficiality as we regard the Name of God too holy to do so.

It is a promise to regard the Holy Name with utmost respect, not to misuse the name or carelessly utter It.One can safely say that with this prayer, one is also making a pledge to obey one of the Ten Commandments which says that we should not take the Name of the Lord in vain.

But if we must be honest with ourselves we realise that each time we say this part of the Lord's Prayer we lie.Many times we do not approach the Lord with the earnestness which the Son of God made conditional in these words.

If we also make a review of our words in just a single day, we see that we have been superficial with the use of Holy Name of God. It has been made to fit into just about any conversation.

May we henceforth change in this so that we may be able to fulfil what we promise our Heavenly Father each time we say "Hallowed be Thy Name".

Our Father Who Art In Heaven!

What do we understand by this first sentence of the Prayer given by Jesus to His Disciples? Is it an invocation or just a form of address to open up the prayer?

Such easy views of course are held by many today and is responsible for the way this all important prayer is said or rather "rattled off".

Through these words however, the Son of God teaches us how we have to approach God. The state of our being before we dare to come before the Most High shall be one of total humility and a solemn desire to give our self to Him without reserve.When we say "Our Father Who Art In Heaven!" it shall be a sacred vow! A vow to serve and obey God as a child and submit humbly to all His ordinances. Apart from being an acknowledgement of God's Omniscience, it is synonymous to giving the Almighty all the rights a father has over a child and a plea that He treats us as a father has to treat his children. We thereby also make a pledge to listen and obey God as a child!

Bearing all these in mind,may we be more genuine from now on especially when we wish to approach our Maker.In the next entries we will examine the other parts of the Lord's Prayer in the Light of Truth!

Understanding Our Neighbours

Our neighbours include those around us as spouse, parent, child, sibling, relative or friend.Many are quite happy with their neighbours but quite a number also have many concerns. There could be disharmony, lack of respect and at times deep resentment between neighbours.

So how are we to navigate the waters of these relationships? Most of these neighbours we may not be able to easily avoid.Can we really understand them? Why are we placed in a relationship with these people? Is it by accident?

In Nature we decipher that like attracts like! Birds of the same feather flock together.Particular types of vegetation congregate in different regions of the world.Amongst humans we notice that families have particular traits and people with similar behavioural types or habits tend to get along. Can we not take this further and realise that what holds true in these cases also hold true for the special relationships we have?

There is indeed a Law that governs all of these: the Law of the Attraction of homogeneous species. It ensures that like attracts like. Therefore, in all simplicity, our neighbours are just like us and only a reflection of what we are deep inside.Those traits we find most disturbing in the other person,is within us, yes, even to a higher degree!

Let us take this as a hint, so that in every conflict we do not seek to blame the other person but first of all look inwards to make amends starting with our self. When we change ourselves for the better, we will also be able to change our surroundings! We will also have gained one other useful thing, a deep understanding of our neighbour and a willingness to love them just the way they are, which is a sure way of helping them to also make a change and improve themselves.

All things bright and beautiful

I recall this morning a hymn we used to sing as young children in primary school. It goes like this:

All things bright and beautiful;
All creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful;
The Lord God made them all...

Let us today unite in giving fervent thanks to the Eternal One Whose wisdom rules the world. Great is the Maker of all things Who has provided everything needed to bring creation into existence and maintain it. All our progress as "modern man" derives from the use of materials already made available to us by Nature. No human being can create a grain of sand or anything for that matter without finding all the components from what is already on ground.

Little really is man to think of himself and his mundane issues.

Let us therefore turn our inner gaze upwards, think of God and give honour, adoration and praise to He that gave us life out of His immeasurable love! We should also resolve from now on to give thanks in our deeds by working towards the welfare of our fellow man.