Book Review: Lord, Teach Us To Pray by John C. Purdy
This is a review of Lord, Teach Us To Pray by John C. Purdy. Released in 1994, by the Kerygma program, this small group study explores the Lord’s Prayer, offering six studies on spirituality related to each line of the Lord’s Prayer.
Exploring the pattern for prayer outlined by Jesus in the book of Matthew, the author breaks up the Lord’s Prayer into six segments, each with a corresponding study. Each study unpacks that segment of the Lord’s Prayer, its theological contexts, and its related stories from both the Old and New Testaments. Each study gives readers valuable insight into Jesus’ intent, the depth of that segment of the Lord’s Prayer, what to visualize as we pray that line, and what it means to live this truth in our lives. In addition to these reflections, each study concludes with thought-provoking reflective questions and activities but also lists additional resources to study.
From the beginning, Author John C. Purdy points out that in the six segments of the prayer that he breaks down, “the first three requests concern what God may properly expect from us: respect for God’s holiness, commitment to the coming kingdom, and obedience to God’s law in our daily lives.”[1] From there, “the final three petitions are requests for what we may properly expect God to do for us: satisfaction of our physical needs, liberation from our bondage to sin, and deliverance from the powers of evil.”[2] Throughout this prayer, Purdy maintains that we are not only aligning ourselves to the ways and will of God, but “we are invited to approach God as children coming to a parent, from whom we may expect to receive what a good parent provides – daily nourishment, forgiveness, and protection from threatening powers.”[3] Seeing God as a parent, and us as a child is not meant to domesticate God, because “God is not a human parent.”[4] Rather, when we enter this prayer by calling God, “Our Father,” we remember also that our Father is “God [who] dwells in heaven, not on earth. God does not belong to the familiar world of mother and dad and is utterly different from any parent we have known.”[5] Through this prayer, we embrace that our Heavenly Father is near and far, known and mysterious.
The author looks at the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, and its background, in the Introduction. From there it moves into looking at Hallowed Be Your Name (Chapter 1), Your Kingdom Come (Chapter 2), Your Will Be Done (Chapter 3), Our Daily Bread (Chapter 4), Forgiveness (Chapter 5), and salvation and rescue from evil and trials (Chapter 6). Each chapter gives us a greater posture, understanding, practice, and further reflection in our practices of prayer. Purdy helps us to see that “when we go into the prayer closet and shut the door, as Jesus told us to do, we think we have shut out the world. Time stops; taxes and wars and other affairs of state are irrelevant; all that matters is the meeting between God and the one who prays. When we enter the presence of the Holy One, we step out of history.”[6] Then, as we step into the presence of God, “We accept as our own God’s intentions for the world.”[7] This powerful prayer realigns our intentions.
This book would be a great resource for many different types of groups who want to explore the Lord’s Prayer and each study reads easy for those both from nontheological and theological backgrounds. Small groups and church studies – as well as individual readers - will learn much from the richness of the Lord’s Prayer but should take note that this is not an exhaustive study and doesn’t explore every angle of each line of the Lord’s Prayer, but it certainly hits on some of the biggest and most important images, ideas, and stories embedded in each. Throughout the book, readers will be challenged to grow in their spiritual formation through the Lord’s Prayer.
John C. Purdy, working with the Kerygma program from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), developed this resource for followers of Jesus from all convictions and denominational backgrounds. A graduate of the College of Wooster and Princeton Theological Seminary, Purdy also achieved a distinctive academic background studying in Basel, Switzerland, and pastoring in Wisconsin for 12 years, before he served as the Curriculum Editor for the Presbyterian Church for twenty-six years.[8] Purdy also authored the Parables at Work (Westminster Press, 1985), Returning God’s Call: The Challenge of Christian Living (Westminster Press, 1989), and God With a Human Face (Westminster/John Knox, 1993).[9]
I read this book as part of my journey through the Doctor of Ministry program at Kairos University. The Doctor of Ministry program at Kairos University is heavily integrated with practical theology and is a program that is based on practical theological reflection and integration. As a student in the Doctor of Ministry program at Kairos University, I am exploring the theological and practical foundations of utilizing the Lord’s Prayer in discipleship, communal contexts, and with those on a spiritual pilgrimage. This book proved invaluable and timely in my ongoing exploration of the Lord’s Prayer.
The book, Lord, Teach Us To Pray by John C. Purdy, presents six accessible and insightful studies on the Lord’s Prayer. Purdy effectively breaks down the prayer into six segments and helps readers to align themselves to a deeper sense of God’s presence and will. As mentioned above, it falls short in delving deeply into every aspect of each prayer segment and some of the visual imagery used to relate concepts to readers may not connect with all. However, this remains a valuable resource for small groups, church studies, and individual readers seeking to deepen their understanding and practice of prayer. Certainly, it would be beneficial for readers to supplement their study with additional resources for a more comprehensive understanding but even standing alone it is a helpful and empowering resource.
[1] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 2.
[2] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 2.
[3] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 2-3.
[4] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 3.
[5] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 3.
[6] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 21-22.
[7] John C. Purdy, Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies On Spirituality and the Lord’s Prayer, Revised. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1994), 17.
[8] “John C. Purdy.” Accessed June 3, 2024. https://kerygma.com/pages/john-c-purdy.
[9] “John C. Purdy.” Accessed June 3, 2024. hhttps://kerygma.com/pages/john-c-purdy.
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