Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.  He said to them, "When you pray, say:

The Our Father or Lord's Prayer has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Because it is so familiar, I can easily recite the words without appreciating the meaning.  A more intentional pace gives me the time and space to consider what Jesus wants me to hear in each petition.  For example:

Father, hallowed be your name,

The Holy One, the Alpha and Omega, Protector, Teacher, Infinite Love
To disparage a name is to heap disgrace on the person represented by the name.  

God, today I desire to honor and hold sacred your Name, that is above all names.
Creator, I desire to be conscious that my very existence depends on you.

Your Kingdom come.

God's Kingdom overflows with justice, mercy, peace, and reconciliation to all things. 
Only God brings about the fullness of the Kingdom.  My call is to co-create a tiny sliver within my unique context.    

God, today I desire to cooperate with you to make visible the Kingdom to the least of my neighbors.

Give us each day our daily bread

Bread for everyone.  Bread, clean water, a safe place to live, a nurturing community, meaningful work, and other essentials are each person's right.  God longs for us to experience the "fullness of life."    

God, I am grateful for the "bread" I have today.     
God, as I pray these words, I recall those in our world without "enough," I ask that You help me provide the "bread" that is missing from others' tables.

and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,

To be forgiven, we first must forgive.
Part of our daily bread is our need for continual forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

God, I desire to cooperate in Your work, building a just, merciful, peaceful, and reconciled world. 
God, I desire your grace to help me forgive everyone and everything.

and do not subject us to the final test."

We are dependent on God for all of our physical and spiritual needs.  We can appeal to God (Father) for protection from anything threatening our life or relationship with God. 

God, I humbly ask that you accompany me through any trials I encounter.    
God, I ask you to open my eyes to the suffering of others and that I might accompany them. 

Next time you recite the Lord's Prayer, what deeper meaning will you discover in and through the petitions?