Living the Prayer of Jesus

A Study of the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

Stephanie Rutt

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781532670206, 9781532670213
• eBook ISBN: 9781532670220
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This "little book with a big message" will completely transform your understanding of what Jesus meant when he answered the request, "Lord, teach us to pray." He answered by reciting what we now have come to know as the Lord's Prayer, in the common language of his day, Aramaic. Within these short pages, you will journey back to hear the original words for yourself and, in doing so, will receive the true essence of Jesus' message regarding how we should pray. You will receive the expanded meanings and reach new depths in understanding.But, rest assured, this is only the beginning! For just as the early disciples discovered, reciting the prayer in Aramaic ignites a spark--a spark that awakens a remembrance of our innate divinity as children of the living God. And as this remembrance begins to resound in the silent chambers of the heart, the prayer begins to inform every aspect of daily life. Nothing is the same. We have been set afire by love everlasting and left undone, and can only release our own, involuntary, ecstatic cry. This is what it means to pray!

Sampling of Participants’
Lord’s Prayers

Since 2012, when the first edition of this book was published, I have given numerous classes, workshops, and presentations on the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic. In the class format, which allows for the beginning of in-depth study, ideally a minimum of eight to twelve weeks is required. Each week, participants are encouraged to take a line of the prayer into their spiritual practice and to reflect upon how the essence of the line informs their daily lives. At the end of the study, participants are invited to write their own personal versions of the prayer, reflecting their expanded understanding, provided by both the study and the practice of the prayer in Aramaic. Again and again, participants have reported that learning to recite the prayer in Aramaic breathed new life into the familiar English words, broadened their understanding of what Jesus was really saying, and allowed for a fuller expression of the prayer in their lives. Below is just a sampling of prayers participants have written over the years.

Julie’s Prayer

Oh Divine Creator

With every breathe I take I remember the kingdom of heaven is within me

My heart is open

Come

Come fill me and satiate my desire for YOU

As I wholly surrender to Thy will

Make me an instrument of YOUR peace so that I may be heaven on earth

Grant me the understanding to recognize all I need in my daily life

Release the bonds that I have with others whose personal boundaries I have crossed

And help me forgive those who have caused me hurt

Guide me to be nonjudgmental

And deliver me from the darkness of being out of harmony with YOU

For everything I need is within me when I embrace YOU

For YOU sustain me

With a sweet, soulful, and harmonious heart-song

Again and again

Amen

—Julie Beauchemin

Anne’s Prayer

My dear Lord from whom all life, light and love is manifest, I honor and praise your name and your spirit that dwells within me and within all of your creation.

Your kingdom is of great beauty and is in all that is seen and unseen.

I pray that you will be made known to me and that I will listen and follow as I walk in communion with you and others.

Thank you for forgiving me for all my faults and failures and for cleansing me of all guilt. In Your Name and with your grace I forgive myself and others.

Thank you for protecting and freeing me from all that keeps me from my purpose and for the knowledge and strength to do all things that are right and holy.

I know that there is nothing impossible with you my Lord, my God.

Amen

—Anne Hebert

John’s Prayer

Remember where you have come from.

Open your heart to me, your Creator

And align yourself to my vibration and sound.

Surrender and be the image of me,

Reflecting my joy...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• The Lord’s Prayer: Authorized (King James) Version and Aramaic Translations
• The Lord’s Prayer: General Aramaic Interpretations with Transliteration4
• Introduction: Lord, teach us to pray . . .
• Remember . . .
• Create Space . . .
• Align with the Creator . . .
• Manifest the Vision . . .
• Become Heaven on Earth . . .
• Embrace Fullness . . .
• Forgive Self . . .
• Forgive Others . . .
• Resist Forgetfulness . . .
• Cultivate Harmony . . .
• Metol dilakhie malkutha
• Amen
• Conclusion
• How the Lord’s Prayer Informs Our Understanding of the Cross
• Sampling of Participants’ Lord’s Prayers
• Bibliography