Most people remember the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus taught us, as a single prayer. It is easy to miss that after “Our Father” come seven distinct petitions, arranged with remarkable order.
The first three look entirely toward God:
1. Hallowed be Thy name.
2. Thy Kingdom come.
3. Thy will be done.
Only after these do the petitions turn toward us:
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
5. Forgive us our trespasses.
6. Lead us not into temptation.
7. Deliver us from evil.
The structure itself says something. Before bread comes God’s Kingdom. Before forgiveness comes God’s will. Before our worries, God’s name.
Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine saw in the first petitions the purpose of human life itself: to glorify God and to share in His Kingdom. The remaining petitions place before God our needs for sustenance, mercy, strength, and protection from evil.
Its lasting power lies in its movement from eternity to everyday life, from heaven to the ordinary concerns of human life.
There is a rhythm to it: God first, then us. Heaven first, then earth.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ