Prayer "Our Father": its interpretation and meaning

At all times, in different cultures and religious beliefs, prayer was the main way of communicating with the gods. Often the services were accompanied by musical instruments and prayers were performed as songs. Orthodoxy adopted many of the customs of antiquity, including the recitation of prayers. One of the most important is the prayer of Our Father, about which the Gospel of Luke tells. Jesus introduced her disciples to her words, which they asked to teach them to pray.

Interpretation of the prayer "Our Father"

It is worth getting acquainted with the text of the prayer closer. Every believer knows it. But, at times, it is pronounced quickly, quickly, almost automatically, and the person does not penetrate into the essence of prayer, whereas in a conversation with God, sincere participation and words coming from the heart are necessary. The prayer begins Our Father, with a request to God, to address him as a father. But this does not mean that a person should feel embarrassment towards the Lord. Rather, this request should reinforce in every believer awe of Him. Then the prayer mentions three petitions to God. "Hallowed by Your Name," says that before God, God manifests through his name, which illuminates our world, full of sin since the days of Adam. In this phrase there is a request that our world not turn away from God. "Thy Kingdom come" - it sounds further in prayer, and this means that the Kingdom of God is always with us. It is not necessary to get into it to die. You can feel it even on the ground, during the church service, at meetings with holy people, while reading spiritual books. To enter the Kingdom of God, one must feel peace and peace in the soul, feel grace. Further prayer Our Father says that the Will of God must be performed in the same way as in heaven and on earth. Man completely trusts himself in the will of God. In life it is very difficult to listen to other people's opinions, agree in a dispute, take a different position during the discussion. But to tell God that everything will be his will, much easier. After all, this will, which brings good, gives freedom. Then in prayer three personal requests to God follow. In the first request, "daily bread for every day," it is about the most urgent and necessary, what a person needs for life: food, shelter, clothing. In the second request - "forgive us our sins, as we forgive our debtors." God understands what drives people into fear and fear - fear of being left without shelter and food, fear of God, waiting for punishment for sins. But prayer gives hope: everything can be changed for the better! It is enough to forgive those who owe you, or you have offended. And then God will let your sins be. Because all people in his debt. In the last request, the petition is not to lead into temptation. This can be interpreted as a fear of meeting such tests, which will not be able to. Such a state of things can arise not at the will of God, but at the will of man himself, blinded by pride and self-conceit. The prayer "Our Father" asks God to save us from the power of the devil and his networks. The prayer ends with the word "Amen", which can be translated as "right", "so be it." Similarly, each prayer ends.

The origins of the prayer "Our Father"

If we talk about the origins of the prayer of our Father, one can turn to ancient sources. Earlier, Greek sources were accepted as priority and faithful. But they contained many inaccuracies and distortions that arose during the translation. Thus, the prayer "Our Father" in Aramaic became a real discovery to get to the heart of Jesus' prayer. Its roots go back to the Jewish tradition. In form, it is clearly constructed according to the requirements for which prayers were built in the time of Jesus. The prayer had to contain seven requests, and consist of three parts. In the beginning, the glorification of God followed, then personal requests and prayer ended with thanksgiving. The prayer "Our Father" can be called the most precious gift of Jesus to his disciples and to all people.

Prayers in Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox Church, Slavic prayers appeared thanks to the brothers of the Enlightenment, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Psalter from the Greek language and presented the Slavs with the alphabet. Slavonic language, used in Russian worship, combines the historical cultural memory of the people and unites different generations of believers. So the prayer "Our Father" during church services sounds in the Church Slavonic language, but this does not become less close and understandable for truly believing people for whom Orthodoxy is conscience and soul.