OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
Abba – Dad
"Abba" is a loving nickname used in family relationships—and that's exactly how the Lord's Prayer begins: with a heartfelt invitation to the divine family. In Aramaic, this opening can also be translated as follows:
Our Father in heaven, Father and Mother of the cosmos, source of all love. (according to FX Jans-Scheidegger)
Douglas-Klotz describes this greeting with poetic depth:
“O You! Breathing life in all, creator of the shimmering sound that touches us.
O Bearer of Life! Father-Mother of the cosmos – everything that moves comes into being through your light.
You radiant one: You shine within us and around us – even the darkness shines when we remember.”
(The Lord's Prayer, p. 34)
“Abba” – or abwun – expresses a procreative and birthing power of love, a cosmic energy of closeness and belonging. In everyday life, "Abba" was a term of endearment for the father, sometimes also for other trusted family members.
All who pray like this can feel: I belong to it. I am part of the divine family. I am in everything that constitutes a family. Jesus uses this address to show that God is not a distant, unapproachable judge, but a loving Father, a loving Mother, and much more. I can turn to him/her with trust and open myself to this power.
This address to God as Father heals and transcends all our images of father or mother.
"In heaven"
– this doesn't just mean a place "up there," but something vibrating, sheltering, something that shines and rises. It is also an inner sacred space, a place of the divine within us, beyond the ordinary.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
How can I sanctify God's name?
Here the Aramaic back translation helps to get closer to the deeper meaning:
Prepare the space of the heart within us so that we may experience your light and your sound in peace.
(according to FX Jans-Scheidegger)
Douglas-Klotz also puts it movingly:
"Help us to breathe a holy breath, feeling only You—thus we create a shrine within ourselves, in wholeness. The Name lives in peace, a separate inner space, a holy of holies, open and giving light to all. Help us to let go, to purify the inner space of busy forgetfulness, so that the Name may live." (The Lord's Prayer, p. 40)
In Jewish tradition, “the name“ was so holy that it was not spoken – YHWH was often used as a euphemism. To give a name means to enter into a relationship. And this relationship deserves reverence and love.
The holy is that which is set apart, that which is removed from everyday life. It requires space—an inner place—where God's presence can unfold. It is such a sacred space within ourselves, which becomes free from the noise of everyday life and receptive to the mystery of God.
All mantric paths share this idea.
What name do I have for the mystery? What name do you have for the divine? What space within you is sacred?
God remains my mystery – and it is precisely in this that I sanctify the name.
THY KINGDOM COME
"Thy kingdom come" – that sounds both longing and trust. In Aramaic, this can be translated as "Thy reality is revealed" (FX Jans-Scheidegger). It's less about a political "kingdom" and more about a loving, creative existence that is gaining space.
Douglas-Klotz translates this wish as follows:
“Let your counsel govern our lives and clarify our purpose for common creation.
Desire with and through us the reign of universal fertility on earth.
Your realm unfolds suddenly as our arms open to embrace all creation.”
The word "come" in Aramaic carries with it a mutual desire—thus, the kingdom is not a place, but a movement, a direction. Not a "rule," but a loving counsel that takes shape: "Your reality shape me." The kingdom comes when we are ready to connect with the creative reality of God.
THY WILL BE DONE
What is God's will? And how do I sense it?
Basically: His will is not foreign to us. Otherwise, how would we be able to do it? If God wants us to fulfill His will, then He/She must also make that will visible to us.
Example: God will not say: You have not fulfilled my will because you did not become a cellist in Asia!
In my own depth, in my gifts and possibilities, in my deep self, I touch or sense the will of God because I am his image.
But that is not always clear…
How can I be sure that what I perceive is truly GOD'S will and not the will of others who interpret Scripture better?
Or that what I perceive stems from my fear or need for recognition?
Or how do I know whether what I believe to be God's will is not actually my own fears or someone else's expectations?
The Bible provides guidance:
“God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God, and God in him/her.”
(1 John 4:16)
The most important commandment is: love God, love your neighbor – and love yourself.
God's will manifests itself where love flows. His power of love is like a fundamental tone in my life. And I ask myself: Where does my voice resonate within His?
The idea of finding God's will outside of ourselves leads us astray—to do the will of others or to submit to the pressure of false authorities. God is alive in us when we open ourselves to him. Only the holy has the potential to truly heal people...
I cannot force God to fulfill my will, but I feel, sense, and pray for His will within me.
In Aramaic, “will” also means “desire” or “heart’s desire.”
Douglas-Klotz calls this approach:
God's will is the sound of my life.
Where is my sound against the background of this sound?
Where does JEHOSHUA (= God saves) resonate within me?
God's will is not abstract or distant, nor always requiring great sacrifice. He encounters us in our deepest longing—often in a very everyday way, quietly and healingly.
AS IN HEAVEN SO ON EARTH
"Heaven" – a word with many layers. Its etymology hints at something protective - like a garment that wraps us in divine presence. What is meant here is not the clouded sky or the universe, but the sacred space: the kingdom of heaven, which is present among us, within us, and beyond.
The "invisible world" of God is the light behind things, within people—a mystery that eludes our ordinary senses. Perhaps it can be imagined as another dimension. God in heaven is approachable. From this encounter, love flows into the world.
Jesus's "repent" refers to this dynamic. God wants to establish the primordial order: the harmonious structure, the vibration of light and life (J. Keppler). We pray that God's heartfelt desire takes shape in us just as it does on the level of sound and light.
Douglas-Klotz finds moving words for this:
Your deepest longing moves within ours – as in all light, so in all forms.
May the burning desire of your heart unite heaven and earth through our harmony
Help us to love where our ideals end, and let acts of compassion grow for all creatures.
Let heaven and earth develop a new creations as we discover your love in ours.
It is a call to harmonize the mystical depth with life in space and time.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
This request is simple—and yet deeply human: "Give us today what we need." Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, but now, on this very day. It's about provision, about trust—and about insight.
Neil Douglas-Klotz sums it up like this:
“Grant us daily the bread and understanding we need: what is necessary for the call of growing life.”
(The Lord's Prayer, p. 55)
In the Middle East, bread was considered sacred. It was baked fresh daily – not only for one's own family, but also for strangers. Bread was more than food: it was a giver of life, a symbol of care and community. This lived reverence opens one's eyes to God's presence in everyday life – today.
Jesus reminds us:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness […] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:33-34)
In the Aramaic word "lachma" , there is not only bread, but also insight. It shares a linguistic root with "hochma" – holy wisdom, truth, teaching, understanding. The daily bread we ask for is food for body and soul.
This request follows logically from the previous ones: after asking God for his closeness, his love, his will, we turn to what enables us to live all of this.
We ask for what strengthens us – not just me, but us. Everyone has a different needs and levels of insight. But together we need what is needed: what allows life to flourish and preserves the divine order within.
God can be recognized in everything; his breath is active in everything.
“I am the living bread” – says Jesus (John 6:51).
From timelessness, God steps into our time – and brings the light that shines within us.
This request thus becomes an exercise in moderation, trust, and sharing: Give us what we need today—not following my greed, but our shared longing. It reminds us of the works of mercy—and of the daily miracle that we are allowed to live.
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
This request challenges us. It asks not only whether we can forgive, but also whether we are willing to to examine ourselvesFor what does forgiveness mean if I condemn the same acts that I myself may not have committed entirely innocently?
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the story of the "wicked servant" (Matthew 18:21–35). This story shows that we all depend on forgiveness—and should therefore forgive others, just as we ourselves have been forgiven. We ourselves have received God's grace again and again—and should always pass it on.
The Aramaic translation brings a new depth:
“Lead us out of the debt that clings to us, just as we release what others owe us.”
(Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 60)
“Loosen the bonds of our faults, as we also release what binds us to the entanglements and guilt of others.”
(Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger)
Forgiveness is not automatic, not a moral obligation, nor a license. It cannot be demanded – especially not in cases of severe suffering. It does not seek to downplay injustice, but rather to help us to resolve the entanglements so that life can go on.
Forgiveness as transformation:
What was once a wrong can become "dung"—fertile ground for new life to grow. Many victims remain internally trapped by their bond with their perpetrators. Only through detachment is true freedom possible.
Jans-Scheidegger: “We often cling to what we lack, make our position absolute – and remain indebted to others.”
Forgiveness is the release of guilt. Guilt means: I've strayed from the path. I've stolen something from the other person—time, dignity, recognition.
In the Gospel of Matthew, guilt is described as fruits that cloud one's consciousness. In the Gospel of Luke, guilt is portrayed more as an unintentional injury.
The Aramaic concept of forgiveness: The threads of my life's meaning have become knotted—and I am returning to unity. A statue of the Virgin Mary as the one who unties knots can be a symbol of this.
Forgiveness is always a Return to original beauty.
It liberates us and others. It frees us from the obligation to constantly make amends.
Forgiveness is not an easy commandment – but a lifelong practice:
To loosen the bonds/bandages/shackles with which we have bound ourselves: to develop then means to un-develop.
And open yourself to the light.
Jesus says: “You shall forgive 70 times 7 times” (Matthew 18:22)
So: loosen the shackles, lift the burden, free us from the (secret?) misdeeds of the past. Don't let me wait for someone else to make up for my transgressions. Choose the path to freedom!
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Note: In the French Lord’s Prayer, this passage says: “Let us not enter into temptation” – and there is also the translation: “Lead us in temptation”.
This request touches on a deeper dimension of our humanity: It is not about external temptations alone – but about inner forces that seek to lead us astray from our own divine path.
“Let us not fall into superficial reactions that feed on our fear.” (Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger)
"Temptation" can be many things: the impulse to flee, to judge, to harden—but also the slide into indifference or self-deception. And it is precisely here, in the borderline area, that we are vulnerable.
The prayer for deliverance from evil is equally complex. It doesn't simply refer to an external "evil" or a personified adversary. Rather, it refers to everything within and around us that threatens the divine order: fear, selfishness, lack of love—the forces that separate us from the love that sustains us.
Neil Douglas-Klotz translates this line as follows:
“Let us not become superficial, but free us from everything that separates us from the true encounter.” (The Lord's Prayer, p. 65)
This prayer invites self-examination: How do we respond to life? Are our reactions healing or hardening? Where do we get caught up in old patterns – where do they no longer serve us?
Evil often reveals itself not as a dramatic act, but in subtle cracks: in the moment when we begin to separate ourselves from divine reality. When we no longer recognize others. When we lose faith in the good within ourselves and in others. Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger writes, in essence, that we often cling to what we lacked – and from this, we make our standpoint absolute. But it is precisely in this that we conceal our lack and remain indebted to others.
The prayer for redemption is a return to inner freedom. For guilt—as a "transgression"—is also a "being-past," a loss of the right path.
Liberation from evil is therefore a daily exercise: unravel from the entanglements. Redeem yourself of everything that no longer serves life. Not just externally—but deep within.
FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER.
The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer is a confession – an affirming connection to that which is greater than ourselves. A praise, a joyful yes:
To you, God, belongs all that has effect. You are the origin and goal, the power and splendor.
This conclusion is present only in the Gospel of Matthew. It is missing from the Gospel of Luke. However, since other Jewish prayers also ended and continue to end with praise, one can assume that Jesus did indeed conclude the prayer with it.
While the rhythm of the speech gradually increases throughout the prayer, it calms down in this verse, like a wave fading away. At the beginning, the "kingdom" is part of the request; now it is reality. The original order of the world shall be realized; freedom, peace, love, and unity shall flow over to me.
The rightful and resonant response is praise!
The ancient word roots of dilachia (=Your) implies more than possession, it refers to a vegetative field: a fertile, rich field ready for sowing or harvesting.
Malkuta is divine potentiality. It's interesting that Malkatu, a very similar word, means goddess.
Haila refers to the producing and sustaining life force or energy.
In Teshbuchta – Glory is contained in “sound, song”: a divine sound, a singing in harmony, a fiery power.
L'ahlam almin (Eternity) is not to be understood statically, but rather as meaning: from one event to another, from age to age. It is based on a cyclical understanding of life.
At the end of the prayer, we acknowledge the inexhaustible, majestic Source. All is Yours, I am Yours. While the visible empires pass away (Assur, Chaldeans, Romans, Ottomans, Spain/Portugal, Commonwealth, etc.), the invisible Source remains ever present, the one we were privileged to call "Abba."
AMEN
Amen – sealing a contract, an agreement, is like soil on which something special will grow in the future. (In Egyptian, ament means the mysterious ground of existence.) Everything becomes present. Now. So be it. So it is.
Other translations:
„I affirm all this with my whole being.” (Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger)
„May they be the soil from which all my actions grow. Sealed in trust and faith." (Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 71)
All requests combine into one sound:
A kingdom that lives within us.
A force that penetrates us.
A glory that never fades away.
“Amen” – our deep-rooted yes.
A word of trust. An anchor.
It means: So be it. So can it be.
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