Thursday 16th May
Read Matthew 6:9-13
“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.” (NIVUK)
Many have attributed to Augustine the phrase that ‘He who sings prays twice’. It is perhaps more likely that it was Martin Luther, a prolific hymn writer. Music focusses the mind and makes messages memorable. The declaration of God’s supremacy and our dependency is grasped doubly when sung.
The song in today’s devotion is the Lord’s prayer sung. Sung in Aramaic, the language in which it was first spoken. If you listen closely, you will hear the rhyme and repetition that is so central to right remembering… The structure and style in these stanzas stands out boldly when sung.
