In graduate school, I took the required Old English course and was fascinated to read Fæder úre (the Lord’s Prayer) in its much more Germanic English words of around 1,000 A.D. Here’s how the words looked then: Fæder úre, þú þe eart on heofonum, si þin nama gehalgod; tobecume þin rice gewurþe þin willa, on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg, and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum; and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele soþlice. To hear how it sounded then, select this YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSfLj3zEqKo

When His disciples asked Jesus how to pray, The prayer He taught began with. “Our” Father. Those words established the foundation that the Lord is father to all of us. We’re all included in one big family. If we understand that correctly, it should end division and hatred.

In Old English times, “which art in heaven” came closer to saying, “You are fully Spirit.” One professor told me that “hallowed be thy name” in the Old English really meant “all health” is in thy name.          

Sometimes we become so used to passages we know well that we should freshly consider how the Lord spoke them in the beginning. Examine the original Aramaic. Consider what’s emphasized in the Old English and other translations. Many modern translations are casual and colloquial these days. Let’s not let the strength of the original be lost. What new thing does the Holy Spirit wish to say to each of us through inspired prayer today?