Gender-Neutral Version’s of the Lord’s Prayer
Our Parent, who is among us, blessed be your Creation.
May your reign be a reality here on earth.
May we become more interested in building your kin-dom here and now than in waiting for it to come down from above.
Let us share our bread with those who hunger.
Let us learn to forgive as well as to receive forgiveness.
Help us through the time of temptation, delivering us from all evil.
For ours are the eternal blessings that you pour upon the earth.
Amen.
Copyright © by J. Manny Santiago, 1999. From the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Used with permission. Downloaded at Many Voices
O most Compassionate Life-giver,
may we honor and praise you;
May we work with you to establish your new order of justice peace and love;
Give us what we need for growth,
And help us, through forgiving others, to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in the time of testing, that we may resist all evil,
For all tenderness, strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen.
Bill Wallace, Aootearoa/New Zealand
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Loving God, in whom is heaven, may Your name be honored everywhere.
May Your kin-dom come.
May the desire of Your heart for the world be done, in us, by us and
through us.
Give us the bread we need for each day.
Forgive us.
Enable us to forgive others.
Keep us from all anxiety and fear.
For You reign in the power that comes from love which is Your glory
forever and ever.
Amen.
-Author Unknown
Holy One, our Mother and Father
Let your name be revered.
Let your kin-dom come,
Let your will be done on earth as it is in the heavens.
Give us today the bread we need for today.
And forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kin-dom, the power, and the glory
Now and forever.
Amen.
Written by Dave Barnhart.
Blessed One, our Father and our Mother
Holy is your name.
May your love be enacted in the world.
May your will be done
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us in the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For all that we do in your love,
and all that your love brings to birth,
and the fullness of love that will be
are yours, now and forever. Amen.
— Copyright © 2003 Richard D. McCall, Associate Professor of Liturgy and Church Music, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Ma. Posted on the Worship Well website.
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver
Source of all that is and all that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God who is in heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
May it be so. Amen.
From the New Zealand Prayer Book
The Lord’s Prayer, Aramaic Translation
Source: Neil Douglas-Klotz, Prayers of the Cosmos
O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your Light within us—make it useful:
Create your reign of unity now—
Your one desire then acts with ours,
As in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
As we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt.
Don’t let surface things delude us.
But free us from what holds us back.
From you is born all shaping will,
the power and the life to do,
the song that beautifies all,
from age to age it renews.
Truly—power to these statements–
May they be the ground from which all
My actions grow:
Amen.
THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (NRSV) of the CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, inclusive language
Our Creator/Father, who art in heaven.
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom/Realm come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom/Realm,
the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
THE MAORI VERSION (SOUTH PACIFIC, INDIGENOUS)
as adapted for WORSHIP
Earth-maker, life-giver, pain-bearer,
Source of all that is and all that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God in whom is heaven:
May the hallowing of your name
echo through the universe!
May your heavenly will be done
by all creatures great and small!
And may your commonwealth
of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth!
With the bread we need this day, feed us.
For the hurt we inflict on one another, forgive us.
By your grace and mercy,
strengthen us through times of temptation,
and spare us from trials too great to endure.
Free us from bigotry and evil, for service and truth.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is Love. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer Revised
By Rev. Jennie Garcia-Kitch
Our creator in Heaven, holy is your name.
Your presence come, justice be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today, sustaining bread.
And teach us to break break with others as you have with us.
Lead us away from the temptation of a hardened spirit.
And deliever us from the evil of closed mindedness.
For you are love, mercy, and grace
until the end of all time. Amen.
The Creators Prayer
By Rev. Jennie Garcia-Kitch
Our creator, who keeps creating
Holy is your name.
Your beloved community come.
Your will be done,
In the word as in our hearts.
Give us daily sustenance of grace and faith and reshape us where we are broken
so that we may accompany our siblings who are also broken.
For you are love, and love is powerful and glorious.
Now and forever.
Amen.
Creator God, Redeemer and Sustainer of all that is,
May your Reality be honored by us and by all creation.
May your will be done on earth as it is in your Eternal Realm.
Give us the food we need for our sustenance today.
Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from times of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the glory and power of the Eternal Realm is yours forever.
Amen.
By Leroy Seat
Dear One, closer to us than our own hearts, farther from us than the most distant star, you are beyond naming.
May your powerful presence become obvious not only in the undeniable glory of the sky, but also in the seemingly base and common processes of the earth.
Give us what we need, day by day, to keep body and soul together, because clever as you have made us, we still owe our existence to you.
We recognize that to be reconciled with you, we must live peaceably and justly with other human beings, putting hate and bitterness behind us.
We are torn between our faith in your goodness and our awareness of the evil in your creation, so deliver us from the temptation to despair.
Yours alone is the universe and all its majesty and beauty.
So it is, Amen.
By James Burklo
First Nations Version translation of the Lord's Prayer:
O Great Spirit, our Father from above, we honor your name as sacred and holy.
Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit-world above is reflected in the earth below.
Provide for us day by day--the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon.The corn, the squash, and the wild rice.All the things we need for each day.
Release us from the things we have done wrong,in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us.
Guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road,and set us free from the evil one and his worthless ways.
Aho! May it be so!
Good caring presence within us, around us, and above us;
Hold us in a sense of mystery and wonder.
Let the fullness of your goodness be within us and around us;
Let all the world know your ways of caring and generosity.
May we find we have all we need
to meet each day without undue anxiety.
Overlook our many stupidities, and help us
to release everyone from their stupidities.
May we all know that we are accepted.
Strengthen us that we will reach out
to the best, always with the faith
to rise above the ugly realities of our existence.
And we celebrate the gifts you have given us –
the rich kingdom of life’s possibilities
the power to do good and the triumphs of good
and the moments when we have seen
the glory and wonder of everything.
You are life’s richness.
You are life’s power.
You are life’s ultimate meaning –
Amen.
By Francis Macnab. Published in The Historical Jesus Goes to Church.
Eternal Spirit,
Source of all that is and ever shall be,
Loving Parent in whom we discern heaven,
May knowledge of your holiness inspire all peoples,
And may your commonwealth of peace and freedom flourish on earth
Until all of humankind heed your call to justice and compassion.
May we find the bread that we need for today,
And for the hurts we cause one another
May we be forgiven in the same measure that we forgive.
In times of trial and temptation, help us to be strong;
When life seems overwhelming, help us to endure;
And thus from the yoke of sin deliver us.
May you reign in the power of human love,
Now and forever.
Amen.
By Tom Hall, Adapted from the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand
Jesus Prayer from the Big Bible Storybook
Praise you, God.
You are very great in every way!
Please give us the things we need today.
For you will give us what we need.
We’re sorry that we do wrong things and disobey.
For you forgive us when we say we are truly sorry.
God, help us in everything we do.
Please help us to live for you all through each day.
For you always listen when we talk- help us to listen when you talk.
Amen.
Nazarene Transliteration of the Lord’s Prayer
Oh thou, from whom the breath of life comes, who fills all realms of sound, light, and vibration.
May your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.
Your heavenly domain approaches.
Let your will come true-in the universe just as on earth.
Give us wisdom for our daily need, detach the fetters of faults that bind us, like we let go of the guilt of others.
Let us not be lost in superficial things, but let us be freed from that what keeps us from our true purpose.
From you comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act, the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.
Sealed in trust, faith, and truth, I confirm with my entire being.
Amen.
Author Unknown
Cherokee Translation of the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father heaven dweller,
My loving will be (to) thy name.
Your Lordship let it make its appearance.
Here upon earth let happen what you think,
The same as in heaven is done.
Daily our food give to us this day.
Forgive us our debts, the same as we forgive our debtors,
And do not temptation being lead us into,
Deliver us from evil existing.
For thine your Lordship is,
And the power is,
And the glory is forever.
Amen
Latin American paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father and Mother
who is in us here on earth,
holy is your name
in the hungry
who share their bread and their song.
Your Kingdom come,
which is a generous land
flowing with milk and honey.
Let us do your will,
standing up when all are sitting down,
and raising our voice
when all are silent.
You are giving us our daily bread
in the song of the bird and the miracle of the corn.
Forgive us
for keeping silent in the face of injustice,
and for burying our dreams;
for not sharing bread and wine,
love and the land,
among us, now.
Don’t let us fall into the temptation
of shutting the door through fear,
of resigning ourselves to hunger and injustice,
of taking up the same arms as the enemy.
But deliver us from evil.
Give us the perseverance and the solidarity
to look for love,
even if the path has not yet been trodden,
even if we fail;
so we shall have known your Kingdom
which is being built forever and ever.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER - Prayer in Time of War
Our Father and Mother, who art in heaven, slow to anger, and of great mercy, lover of all the peoples of earth.
Hallowed be thy Name.
Remind us that “all the nations are as nothing before thee,” their governments but a shadow of passing age; Thy Kingdom come on earth.
Grant to thy children throughout all the world, and especially to the leaders of the nations, the gift of prayerful thought and thoughtful prayer; that following the example of our God, we may discern what is right, and do it; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Help us to protect and to provide for all who are hungry and homeless, especially those who are deprived of food and shelter, family and friends, by the tragedy of war; Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us for neglecting to “seek peace and pursue it,” and finding ourselves in each new crisis, more ready to make war than to make peace. “We have not loved thee with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves”; Forgive us our debtors, as we forgive our debtors.
Let us not seek revenge, but reconciliation; Let us not delight in victory, but in justice; Let us not give ourselves up to pride, but to prayer; Lead us not into temptation.
Be present to all your children ravaged by war; Be present to those who are killing and to those who are being killed; Be present to the loved ones of those who are killing and to the loved ones of those who are being killed; Deliver us from evil.
Subdue our selfish desires to possess and to dominate, and forbid us arrogance in victory;
For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
This prayer is from Women’s Uncommon Prayers, Morehouse Publishing, 2000.
LORD’S PRAYER: A Traditional prayer in a different voice
Our Father/Mother who art in heaven,
Our Creator, you are all around us and within us.
hallowed be thy name.
We praise you with many different names.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
Help us live as we understand we should from knowing you
in harmony and connectedness with each other,
on earth as it is in heaven.
With all creatures of the earth,
and with the earth and the universe itself.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Help us to use your resources wisely
So that we might be sustained.
and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Help us take responsibility when we fail to live harmoniously,
And help us understand and forgive when others let us down.
And lead us not into temptation,
Let us know you well enough that we are not tempted
to live outside of your love.
but deliver us from evil,
and empower us to work together to overcome evil.
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
We believe that you created the world
and that you will be all around us and within us forever.
Amen. We are open to you.
-Lyn Seils Robertson
FROM ‘HUMAN RITES’ BY WARD AND WILD.
“Beloved, our Father and Mother,
in whom is heaven,
hallowed be your name,
followed be your royal way,
done be your will and rule,
throughout the whole creation.
With the bread we need for today,
feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another,
forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
Strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure,
spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil,
free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
Now and forever.
Amen.”
MARK BERRY – EMERGING CHURCH MOVEMENT
O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere!
Release a space to plant your Presence here.
Imagine your possibilities now.
Embody your desire in every light and form.
Grow through us this moment’s bread and wisdom.
Untie the knots of failure binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others’ faults.
Help us not forget our Source,
Yet free us from not being in the Present.
From you arises every Vision, Power and Song
from gathering to gathering.
Amen
Lord’s Prayer by PARKER J. PALMER
Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother,
Holy and blessed is your true name.
We pray for your reign of peace to come,
We pray that your good will be done,
Let heaven and earth become one.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Give it to those who have none.
Let forgiveness flow like a river between us,
From each one to each one.
Lead us to holy innocence
Beyond the evil of our days —
Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.
O God, you love us like a good parent, and are present in every aspect of our existence. May your nature become known and respected by all. May your joy, peace, wholeness and justice be the reality for everyone as we live by the Jesus Way. Give us all that we really need to live every day for you. And forgive us our failures as we forgive others for their failures. Keep us from doing those things which are not of you, and cause us always to be centered on your love. For you are the true reality in this our now, and in all our future. In the Jesus Way we pray. Amen.
Written by David Sorril
Indwelling God,
infused throughout all existence,
we honor you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.
May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts,
forever and ever.
Amen.
By Fred F. Keip
Most compassionate Life-giver,
may we honor and praise you:
may we work with you to establish
your new order of justice, peace and love.
Give us what we need for growth,
and help us, through forgiving others, to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in the time of testing,
that we may resist all evil.
For all the tenderness,
strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen.
Written by W. Wallace
God, heart of the world: revealed through every aspect of creation: understood through our awareness. May we honour the holiness of creation and act accordingly so that your love is reflected in the way we live.
May we always be thankful for the food we eat and the friends we have.
May we forgive those who transgress against us and be forgiven for our own.
In the freedom of love may we live as your heartbeat and not be compromised by hesitation.
Through our freedom, may your justice be seen and heard and experienced forever and ever.
Amen.
Written by Sherri J. Weinberg
Loving God, within and around us, we revere you. We seek to live life as you would want us to do; with love and respect for all people and all things in the universe. May we find each day sufficient for our needs, and find forgiveness when we do wrong, just as we forgive those who do wrong to us. In times of trouble, may we centre our lives in you. For your being is love, which comes with strength and with beauty, throughout eternity. Amen.
Written by Margaret Rolfe
God, who cares for us,
The wonder of whose presence fills us with awe.
Let kindness, justice and love shine in our world.
Let your secrets be known here as they are in heaven.
Give us the food and the hope we need for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing
as we forgive the wrongs done to us.
Protect us from pride and from despair
and from the fear and hate which can swallow us up.
In you is truth, meaning, glory and power,
while worlds come and go.
Amen.
Written by M. Furlong/nwi
O presence and power within us, Being and Life of all.
How we are filled, how we overflow with infinite love and gladness!
We shall this day sow grace and peace, and show mercy to all, and gentle loving-kindness.
And we shall be not so self-serving, but a constant source of giving.
For ours is the essence, and the wholeness, and the fullness forever
Written by PALaughlin/4r
Dear One,
closer to us than our own hearts,
farther from us than the most distant star,
you are beyond naming.
May your powerful presence become obvious
not only in the undeniable glory of the sky,
but also in the seemingly base
and common processes of the earth.
Give us what we need, day by day,
to keep body and soul together, because
clever as you have made us,
we still owe our existence to you.
We recognize that to be reconciled with you,
we must live peaceably and justly with other human beings,
putting hate and bitterness behind us.
We are torn between our faith in your goodness
and our awareness of the evil in your creation,
so deliver us from the temptation to despair.
Yours alone is the universe and all its majesty and beauty.
So it is. Amen.
Written by JBurklo, 2010
Indwelling God,
infused throughout all existence,
we honor you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.
May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts,
forever and ever. Amen.
Fred F. Keip
Spirit of Life and Love, here and everywhere,
May we be aware of your presence in our lives. May our world be blessed. May our daily needs be met, And may our shortcomings be forgiven, As we forgive those of others.
Give us the strength to resist wrong-doing, The inspiration and guidance to do right, And the wisdom to know the difference. We are your hands in the world; help us to grow. May we have compassion for all living beings, And receive whatever life brings, With courage and trust.
Amen
Rev. Sue Woolley
