Have you noticed the language of our weekly Call to Worship?  It’s adapted from a modern paraphrase written by Sarah Dylan Breuer.  She writes: “This was written for services including many unchurched people for whom the language of the Lord's Prayer was not immediately meaningful, but who found this very loose paraphrase resonant in the moment and a means to think about the meaning of Jesus' words and pattern of prayer.”  The original prayer is below. How does it sound in your ears?  Comforting or disruptive? Why?  How does it influence your understanding of the prayer?

Loving Creator

we honor you,

and we honor all that you have made.

Renew the whole world

in the image of your love.

Give us what we need for today,

and a hunger to see the whole world fed.

Strengthen us for what lies ahead;

heal us from the hurts of the past;

give us courage to follow your call in this moment.

For your love is the only power,

the only home, the only honor we need,

in this world and in the world to come.

Amen.

Prayer Focus: Hopefully, you are still stopping to pray three times a day.  If you’ve lost track of that invitation, consider it now.  In week one, the devotion invited you to set an alarm on your phone that will prompt you to pray three times a day.  Begin to notice how this ritual impacts your everyday life and routine.  You are invited, if it feels comfortable to you, to pray Breuer’s paraphrase in this way for the next week.