By: Charlotte Chitambo

.There is a song that I grew up with. People sang it quite often in church and other places where they could. There is even a radio version of the song. The words to the song are: Pray for me (so that) I will pray for you. Sometimes the burden is so hard for me to bear. Oh do pray for me please.

I could not understand why I needed the assurance of someone else to pray for my life when I could just pray for myself. It was only recently that I listened to the song and understood the meaning behind the song. The song is a plea. A plea to society that as individuals and most importantly, as Christians, we should not be selfish. In life there are circumstances in which we find ourselves and we just don’t know where to turn.

Sometimes we need to stop, look around, and just pray for someone; over their lives and difficulties they face. Some of you might be aware of someone praying for you. It may even be a person who’s name you do not know. Chances are, someone is praying for you.

When one of his disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus taught him and his group to pray. Jesus gave them a perfect example of prayer and how we should emulate it. The prayer commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer is found in the books of Matthew chapter nine and Luke Chapter eleven.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NRSV)

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one’.

What is Jehovah’s kingdom like? When Jesus says, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it in heaven,” what does he mean? I imagine God’s kingdom is one where personal, selfish needs do not exist, everyone cares for the well-being of others and there is universal love.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for those who persecute and hurt us. He also calls us to acknowledge that we have sinned, wronged, and hurt others as well. Praying for others is therefore imperative in every Christian’s journey. The prayer does not necessarily have to do only with those that might have wronged us. Pray over the lives of your friends, your family, your school mates, strangers, those with stories you see on the news. Pray for those whose eyes have not seen the light.

Questions for discussion: How relevant is the Lord’s prayer in our everyday lives? How can we incorporate the format Jesus gave us into all our prayers?