Teach Us to Pray

By Paul Buckley. Pendle Hill Pamphlets (number 491), 2025. 34 pages. $7.50/paperback or eBook.

Paul Buckley is a Quaker author whose thoughts I look forward to reading every time he publishes something new. He has a deep knowledge of Quaker history, beliefs, and practices, and his personal perspective on those topics always offers me new insights and challenges. Such is the case with his new Pendle Hill pamphlet, Teach Us to Pray.

The pamphlet is entirely devoted to the Lord’s Prayer, the answer that Jesus gives to the disciple who asks him to “teach us to pray” in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Like Buckley, I was raised Catholic, and undoubtedly the Lord’s Prayer was the first prayer I memorized and repeated on a daily basis. I’ve said it so many times throughout my life that I can reel it off verbatim without even thinking. And that is Buckley’s point: many of us know the prayer, but probably few of us have taken the time to think about what each phrase means to us today.

Buckley takes each phrase of the prayer separately and examines the intention behind it, then offers a phrase of his own that conveys the same concept as the original but in words that have more relevance to his spiritual life today. In the end, he gathers all these phrases into a new version of the prayer. Here, however, is the key to the pamphlet’s purpose: after each of his phrases, he leaves a few blank lines for the reader to write in their own version; additionally, he leaves a full page open at the end of the pamphlet to bring all those phrases together. The challenge he presents is not to decide whether you agree with his interpretations or not; the challenge is to find your own words or (to quote George Fox out of context) to determine “what canst thou say.”

I found that Buckley’s phrases did not resonate with me, but I think he would say that’s fine and even, perhaps, that’s good. He clearly says to take his “comments, feelings, and reactions merely as a starting point. They are intended to be an invitation for you to do the same.” In my case, the lack of connection that I had with his words provided a strong motivation to accept his invitation to find my own.

As I considered this prayer, I was surprised to realize that it and the opening prayer of the Qur’an have much in common. Both fit Buckley’s definition of prayer: “Praying, as Jesus taught it, is not recitation; it is engaging in conversation with our celestial parent about the various parts of our lives and how in each one, we can recognize and acknowledge our dependence on divine sustenance.”

Both are addressed to God. Both begin with praise for God: in one case, “hallowed be thy name”; in the other, noting God as “infinitely compassionate and merciful.” Both are about “us,” not about “me.” The use of the word “us” implies that each prayer is to be said with others in your spiritual community (something that Buckley suggests doing). Even when said alone, the prayers are clear that we should seek God’s blessings for our entire community, not just for ourselves alone. Both ask God’s guidance to follow, as the Qur’an puts it, “the straight path,” the path of trying to live in harmony with God.

The words of the Qur’an are not my words, but seeing the similarities helped me to understand the intentions behind some of the phrases in the Lord’s Prayer and further motivated me to take up Buckley’s challenge to find my own words.

I encourage Friends to read the pamphlet; read the phrases Buckley finds meaningful to his life today, and see how they resonate with you. Then take up his invitation and challenge to find the words that express the concepts in this much-loved prayer in a way that is meaningful for you today.

---

John Andrew Gallery attends Chestnut Hill Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa. He is the author of four Pendle Hill pamphlets and the recently published book Alone with God: Spiritual Reflections and Essays, 2000–2024.