The Prayer

68 Words that Changed the World

Christopher Levan

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9781532618154
  9781498243476
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498243469
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

How can sixty-eight words change the world? Seems impossible. An even greater mystery, these words come in the form of a prayer. Christopher Levan shows how early Christians used what we now call The Lord's Prayer as a building block for their movement. It was from these sixty-eight words that they created the backbone and determination to shape a religious movement that would dramatically alter human history. Walking step by step through The Prayer, Levan will show how Jesus of Nazareth adapted the economic and spiritual principles from his Jewish heritage and teaching, to direct his followers in a simple, yet very profound conversation with their Creator. In The Prayer, Jesus' disciples found words to build God's reign on earth: "the kingdom of God." Obviously, these sixty-eight words are not just words. They have power. They enact what they express. And far from spent, these words still contain the ability to enliven and shape the current expressions of God's reign here and now.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• A Prayer-Full Preface: The Power of Words
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Standing in the Need of Prayer
• Chapter 1: What is “our living”?
• Chapter 2: What is “our praying”?
• Chapter 3: Starting in the Middle: “Thy Kingdom Come”
• Chapter 4: Performative Language: “Thy Kingdom Come”
• Chapter 5: Relationships: “Our Father”
• Chapter 6: A Materialist Religion: “Thy will be done on earth . . .”
• Chapter 7: A Social Program: “Give us this day . . .”
• Chapter 8: An Economic Ideology: “Forgive us our debts . . .”
• Chapter 9: The Theology of the Kingdom of God: “Thine is the power”
• Chapter 10: Consequences of Living Our Prayers: Always Trust Your Heart
• Bibliography
• Appendix: Translations and Versions of the Lord’s Prayer