Today this blog continues to offer the Prayer of Jesus in the shorter version found in Luke 11, inviting any who would like to do so, to say it every morning as part of a world -wide group who are committed to doing this. I’m calling the group ARTOS after the Greek word for bread used in the prayer.

Artos = bread

Father

May your name be kept holy

may your kingdom come.

Give us today the bread we need

and forgive us the wrongs we have done

as we forgive those who have wronged us;

and do not bring us into hard testing. Amen

On this Good Friday we remember that the first three lines of this prayer refer to the Father; the next four to the work of the Spirit, and that the whole prayer is the prayer of the Son of God, who invites us to say it and know ourselves as God’s children.

hard testing

Because Jesus kept the Father’s name holy and would not worship false Gods of power or religion; because he announced and initiated the God’s saving rule amongst his people; because he told the rich to share their bread justly with the poor and taught his community to live in faith from day to day; because he taught and demonstrated God’s free forgiveness and forgave his enemies; because of all these things, he was brought into hard testing on his cross, on which he showed utter fidelity to the Father who seemed to have abandoned him, and went into the darkness not knowing if he would be delivered from evil. So today we honour Jesus and say his prayer with trust and courage.