The Lord's Prayer: A Modern Unity Translation

I am a member of Unity, a relatively small group of Christian churches headquartered in Kansas City. It was started in the late 1800s as a study group that used the teachings of Jesus to heal. It grew into a large publishing establishment that still sends the Daily Word to millions of people. Silent Unity is a 24-hour prayer ministry that also supports millions throughout the world. These services are made available to anyone who wants them and the majority of users of both of these are non-Unity members. Many of these people are unaware of the teachings of Unity. So, I plan to write a series of articles discussing these ideas.

I will begin with one of the great teachers from the Unity tradition, Eric Butterworth. He was followed by many during his life, including Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, and Norman Vincent Peale. One of his classic texts was called Discover the Power Within You. In this book, he explores the teachings of Jesus to expose the greatest discovery that Jesus made - the divinity of man! Jesus gave us an example of how we can all express the divine consciousness that is within each of us. Jesus was called the Christ because he expressed this higher consciousness in his works. In Unity, we call this "divine spark" in each of us the "Christ Consciousness". The word "Christ" means "anointed one". In Eastern religions, this would be considered being "enlightened" or having "Buddha consciousness".

Jesus did not want to be worshipped; he was trying to set an example of how all mankind can live when we truly know who we are. Jesus saw this divine potential in every human being and he said "He that believed on me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these he shall do."

One of the ways that Jesus tapped into the Christ consciousness was through the use of affirmations - statements of Truth about his (and our) spiritual nature. One of the greatest examples of affirmations by Jesus was in his prayer example, now known as the Lord's Prayer. Unfortunately, the early translators of the New Testament didn't understand this form of prayer and they changed some of the words to make it fit with the style of prayer they understood.

Unlike the more common prayer that expresses gratitude or asks God for something, an affirmative prayer states spiritual Truth as a reminder to the person praying. It connects us to the Source that is always within us and Jesus' life was the prime example of living from this state of mind. In Unity, we pray to change OUR mind, not God's.

I have re-written the Lord's Prayer into a modern example of affirmative prayer, to show you the difference:

The Christ Consciousness dwells within me and I connect to it now in the stillness.

The whole and perfect nature of God is also my nature.

I allow God's perfect idea for me to manifest in my outer expression.

I know that God is the source of all abundance and fulfils my daily needs.

I forgive myself and others for all that they have done or not done. I release and my soul is cleansed!

Unconditional love and support are always available to me.

And so it is!

As you can see, this prayer expresses the connection to our Source, the divinity within us. And from this state of consciousness, it reminds us of the health, abundance, and loving support that flow from this Source. Forgiveness allows us to look past appearances to see the divinity in ourselves and others. Although we are surely grateful for this grace from God, we are even more aware that it is God's will that we fully express this potential that comes from our shared nature.

For some, the ideas I have presented are not new; for others, they may be radical! All I ask is that you take some time to sit with this and let the wisdom within you decide if this is for you. Charles Fillmore, the founder of Unity, called it "Practical Christianity" meaning that it was Truth that was meant to be applied in your everyday life. As such, Unity focuses on the teachings of Jesus and the application of these principles to make our own lives happier. They have worked for me and I hope you will consider them.