This short prayer is a formula, a prescription for relating to the universal Spiritual Being, to ourselves, and to each other. Through understanding it, reciting it, and exploring it, we can come into closer relationship with our own Spiritual nature, with life around us, and with each other. This is one way we can move towards peace within ourselves and in our world. Furthermore, because Christianity plays a big role in the world dynamics, it can be helpful to find within the teachings of Jesus/Eshoa some guidelines for living that are common ground with those of various religions, traditions, and opinions. Link to essay on Common Ground.

I choose the name "Our lord's prayer" as the title (rather than The Lord's Prayer) to respect other traditions which have their own "lord's prayer," and to make clear (with the small "l") that "lord" refers to the master teacher Eshoa/Jesus, not the Lord/Ultimate Source of the Universe. The word "our" refers to any and all who wish to embrace the prayer of Eshoa as their own.

"Prayer" in Aramaic is slotha, from the root sla,, which means "to lay a snare, to incline, to turn towards, to set a trap."1. It has to do with being receptive, attuning oneself to be able to catch Divine Insight; focusing ones mind towards the Divine Being, waiting with acute awareness for the "still small voice" that speaks of truths we somehow know to be true for us. Errico writes: "Prayer is an attitude of spirit to prepare us for what we need and qualify us to receive what God has provided."2. How might you articulate "prayer"?

It was the custom in Eshoa's day to gather and discussed what the words of a prophet might mean. We encourage you to join us in this process. In Judaism, this was/is called midrash; in Aramaic, targum. What we call this kind of sharing of ideas is not important; what is vital is that we each find our way to enliven ourselves through understandings and realizations that give us joy, help in the practical everyday aspects of life, and empower us to be all we can be in service of All that Is (God Incarnating).

To support this goal, we offer in this section several short versions of the prayer, a line-by-line poetic rendering, and some essays. For those wanting details of pronunciations for the Aramaic version, we offer an "annotated" version, and our CD is available for learning via song. There are various opinions about pronunciation. Let your heart be your guide, and then allow the sounds of Eshoa articulated within your own being to connect you to the heart of mercy, love, forgiveness, justice, joy, and peace.

1. Errico, Rocco A., Aramaic Light on the Gospel of Matthew,. Noohra Foundation, Santa Fe, N. M., p. 94.
2. Ibid, p. 94