Responsibility in the Greater "We"

Consider the Lord’s prayer, when Jesus was giving the sermon on the mount, He explained how we are to pray. After advising the people to pray to the unseen Father in privacy and without babbling, Jesus exemplifies prayer in the following passage:

⁹ This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name, 
¹⁰ your kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
   on earth as it is in heaven. 
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. 
¹² And forgive us our debts, 
   as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one

Notice how the attention is not on “me”—the receivers of God’s reciprocation are identified as “us.” Furthermore, although the greater we is identified as the involved party, the focus is not on us at all, the focus is solely on God the Father.

This example prayer opens with recognizing and praising God. Then the focus moves to the Father’s will and praying in accordance with His will. Only then does Jesus move on to requesting the Father’s provision and forgiveness. Then the Lord prays for God’s leading apart from temptation and deliverance, which are also a part of God’s will for us.

This is how I wish to pray—with recognition, praise, repentance,

reverence, and request according to the Father’s will.

This thought has revolutionized the way I pray. I am more mindful to pray for the “we”—the group of people I am involved with, invested in, identified with.

Which raises another point; we are all associated with a greater group of others. We may not want to be, this may not be by choice, but none the less, we are associated and bare responsibility for these “others.” This group may be America, it may be our university, our workplace, or our home. I’m not saying we are bare the weight of the sins of those who are also a part of these identity groups, but we do bare responsibility. We are involved and invested, and therefore, we can do something about it, we are responsible.

When we pray, we should pray for “us.” Although I have never stolen a car or committed murder, I am associated with—identified with—those who have. And I am no better than those who have. Therefore, I pray that God would revive us and redeem us.