The prayer I thought I knew

When I began writing Awakened Faith, I wasn't setting out to study the Lord's Prayer. What I knew was that I felt called to write.

At the time, my mentor and guide, Susan Anthony, was looking for someone to help put her teachings into a book. The timing felt synchronistic.

I thought I was writing a book. What I didn't realize was that, beyond what I was learning from Susan, the book itself would begin teaching me.

I began noticing signs, synchronicities, and experiences that seemed to illuminate the deeper meaning of the prayer itself. Ideas would appear through Susan, through other teachers, and in the most unexpected places. Insights would arrive during ordinary moments. It felt as though the prayer was slowly revealing itself one layer at a time.

What emerged was an understanding I had never encountered before.

The Lord's Prayer is often treated as something we are meant to memorize and recite without truly understanding its meaning.

What if it is something we are meant to live?

What if it is actually an awakening guide?

What if Jesus wasn't simply giving his followers a prayer, but a map?

A map for remembering who we are. A map for aligning ourselves with the Divine. A map for moving beyond fear, separation, judgment, and scarcity.

The deeper I explored the prayer, the more I saw that every line contains an invitation. An invitation to embody a way of being rather than simply adopt a set of beliefs.

The prayer begins by shifting our relationship with the Divine.

It moves into alignment with a higher will.

Of all the lines in the prayer, "Thy will be done" may be the one that transformed my understanding the most. For much of my life, I heard it as a statement of surrender. Through my work with Susan, I began to understand it differently.

If we are created in the image and likeness of the Divine, then we are creative beings. We are constantly creating through our thoughts, words, actions, and choices. From this perspective, "Thy will be done" is not an invitation to become passive. It is an invitation to become conscious.

The word "Thy" points to the Divine. The word "will" can be understood as thought. Suddenly the prayer becomes deeply personal. What thoughts am I choosing? What words am I speaking? What actions am I taking?

"Thy will be done" reminds me that I always have a choice in how I show up. It invites me to align my thoughts, words, and actions with the highest expression of who I Am.

It is a guide to inner peace, peace in our relationships, and peace throughout the cosmos.

Seen through this lens, the Lord's Prayer is not a religious obligation—it is a blueprint for awakening.

What amazes me is that this wisdom was hiding in plain sight all along, tucked within a prayer that millions of people have recited for generations, waiting for us to recognize its deeper meaning.

Although the book is rooted in the Lord's Prayer, it was never intended to be seen as a religious book. As the subtitle suggests, it is about learning to live the prayer. At its heart, it is a guide to awakening our true nature, embodying Christ Consciousness, and healing the illusion of separation.

If this perspective speaks to you, I invite you to read Awakened Faith. It is the book that emerged from this journey and a deeper exploration of the Lord's Prayer as a guide for awakening.

For those who would like to explore these teachings in community, I'll also be leading an Awakened Faith Experiential Book Journey beginning next Tuesday 6/16/26. We'll be moving beyond concepts and into practices, reflection, and lived experience—the very heart of what the book is about.