While preparing for my Summer series of sermons, which I will begin this coming Sunday, I stumbled upon – or re-discovered – Dallas Willard‘s paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer. While it is a paraphrase, and therefore may be slightly skewed here and there toward the author’s personal perspective, nevertheless Willard’s was an informed perspective and his expression has both a ring of faithfulness and a refreshing simplicity.

Dear Father always near us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us –
may your will be done here on earth in
just the way it is done in heaven.
Give us today the things we need today,
and forgive us our sins and impositions on you
as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don’t put us through trials,
but deliver us from everything bad.
Because you are the one is charge,
and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-
which is just the way we want it!

Source: The Divine Conspiracy