"Therein lies the extraordinary power of the Lord's Prayer for the formation of Christian character: inherently fertile, the Prayer accomplishes that which God purposes. It is impossible for us to pray Jesus' Prayer and remain unreconstructed by the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 2:16).
By its praying, measure by measure grace softens our self-centredness, love enlarges our noblest capacities: trust in the Father, desire that God's name and all creation be sanctified, regarding our fellow creatures with merciful eyes. The Lord's Prayer is nothing other than Christ's own curriculum in the education of human wanting."
(Clifton Black, 'The Education of Human Wanting: Formation by Pater Noster', in Character and Scripture, ed. W P Brown, Eerdmans, 2002, p. 263)
The essay was followed in 2018 by a full monograph on the Lord's Prayer which is a satisfyingly rich exposition of scholarly exegesis, reception history, theological reflection and pastoral appropriation of the Lord's Prayer. It sits alongside Nijay Gupta's, The Lord's Prayer as two of the most useful and up to date scholarly treatments of Jesus' prayer.
Leave a Reply