The Lord's Prayer and Me (by Cheryl Sharpe)

Cheryl Sharpe writes: My first exposure to the Lord’s Prayer was not in church. When I was in elementary school, I woke up every weekday morning to the sound of local talk radio station, KMOX-AM. My bedroom was right across the hall from the kitchen, where my parents’ old-fashioned radio was always turned on at the crack of dawn.

When it was time for me to wake up and get ready for school, my father would turn the radio up high. I’d lie in bed listening to the same programming each morning – the national anthem, the Morning Minute from Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking,” and The Lord’s Prayer.

The latter was a soaring rendition sung by American tenor, Mario Lanza. I’d sink back under the covers, close my eyes and listen to his beautiful singing. By the time I was six or seven years old, I had memorized the Lord’s Prayer though I didn’t really understand it. As soon as that song ended, Daddy would blast the radio station’s “Morning March” loud to jolt me out of bed. Then it was time to get up, hurry up and, get ready for school.

Fast forward to Summer 2021 at Second Church. Exploring each component of the very familiar Lord’s Prayer as an adult unlocked a deeper appreciation of it for me. What’s more it transported me back six decades to when I fell in love with the Lord’s Prayer song. Of course as an adult I came to understand its meaning too. Now I’ve come full circle. I still hear the Lord’s Prayer song in my head, but I’m also better equipped to apply the words to my daily life.


Click here to hear a recording of The Lord's Prayer referenced in Cheryl's reflection.



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