This, then, is how you should pray:  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  Matthew 6:9

If  you’re more than forty years old you probably know the King James Version of the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in 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,

and the power, and the glory,

forever. Amen.

More recently a number of contemporary English versions of the Lord’s Prayer have been written. This one’s from The Message:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best – as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

And most recently:

 

dad@hvn, urspshl.we want wot u want&urth2b like hvn.giv us food&4giv r sins lyk we 4giv uvaz.don’t test us! save us!bcos we kno ur boss, ur tuf&ur cool 4 eva!ok?

Now don’t be shocked. This is the Lord’s Prayer translated into text message format. It’s part of a new scheme to send the Lord’s Prayer to worshipers on their cell-phones. In an attempt to bring Christianity to a generation that seems too busy to go to church the satirical British Christian Web site Ship-of-Fools.com designed an online competition to see who could cut the Lord’s Prayer from 372 characters to 160 or fewer without losing anything important. The winner, and writer of the above version, was Matthew Campbell, a history student at York University in England.

No doubt there’ll be a variety of opinions concerning these versions. You’re welcome to your opinion. And if you want, u can tlk n txt. But at the end of the day what’s important is that you’re remembering to pray. So pray earnestly, constantly, and sincerely. And don’t forget the Lord’s Prayer. After all, Jesus had a reason for saying, “This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven …” Matthew 6:9.