I love Jesus's prayer in Matthew 6:9–13 for its uncomplicated message for believers wanting to be more like Him and aligning their expectations with the will of God. Clearly, Jesus's focus in His concise prayer is on the majesty, beneficence, and power of Father God in our lives.
After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
This prayer is not focused on human empowerment at all; rather, it is all about what Father God can, does, and will do for His believers. Yet, progressivechristianity.org writer Francis Mcnab incorrectly and anthro-centeredly rewrites how we are to pray to God in the passage. First, note that Mcnab immediately removes the fatherhood of God (disregarding Jesus’s specific address as trivial or outdated). Then, note how many more times Mcnab adds us, we, and our compared to the original Scripture. Note the additions of “within us” to the passage (shifting the outward power of God to the inward power of His adherents). Note also Mcnab’s emotional emphases of avoiding anxiety, rising above ugly realities, overlooking stupid people, and feeling personal acceptance in life. Speaking of which, note how the kingdom of God is demoted to simply being the kingdom of life—which is what? Nature? And while Mcnab does end his translation with three “Yous,” readers are left to ponder just exactly who (or what) the “good caring presence” is that Mcnab refers to initially in his narcissistic version. Read for yourself:
Good caring presence within us, around us, and above us;
Hold us in a sense of mystery and wonder.
Let the fullness of your goodness be within us and around us;
Let all the world know your ways of caring and generosity.
May we find we have all we need
to meet each day without undue anxiety.
Overlook our many stupidities, and help us
to release everyone from their stupidities.
May we all know that we are accepted.
Strengthen us that we will reach out
to the best, always with the faith
to rise above the ugly realities of our existence.
And we celebrate the gifts you have given us –
the rich kingdom of life’s possibilities
the power to do good and the triumphs of good
and the moments when we have seen
the glory and wonder of everything.
You are life’s richness.
You are life’s power.
You are life’s ultimate meaning –
Amen.
This is not a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer; it is a humanist, self-empowering, eisegetical revision wherein the profane replaces the Divine. Even Mcnab’s inclusion of “Amen” (So be it) at the end feels more like blasphemy than any affirmation of biblical truth. A better basic takeaway of the Lord’s Prayer might include the following conclusions:
We are to think of God as our divine Father (Jesus even calls Him, "Abba” [daddy], in Mark 14:36 and the apostle Paul calls Him, "Abba," in Romans 8:15 & Galatians 4:6).
God lives in heaven, is holy, and is the King of Kings.
God alone is our great Provider, our Mercy, our Model, our Protector, and our Deliverer.
Father God can all do all these things because He is the One, true, loving eternal God.
To flip the script might feel good to some (as in Mcnab’s Prayer) but it runs dangerously contrary to the reality of our relationship with God—according to Jesus Christ (and the Word of God). Ultimately, the authoritative prayer of Jesus requires His followers to be humble, unpolitical, submissive, supportive, and grateful to Father God—absolutely asserting the singularity of God's importance in our lives. There can be no greater or “good-er” news than that! Can I get an Amen?