Our heavenly Father: Sermons on the Lord's prayer

by Helmut Thielicke

Dust jacket notes: "Here is a vivid and compelling interpretation of the Lord's Prayer by the great German preacher and theologian. His sermons open a new dimension on life - when seen through the eyes of 'the prayer that spans the world.' Dr. Thielicke likens the Lord's Prayer to the rainbow colors of the spectrum. The whole light of life is captured in this rainbow of seven petitions. 'The Lord's Prayer can be spoken,' says the author, 'at the cradle or the grave. It can rise from the altars of great cathedrals and from the dark hovels of those who 'eat their bread with tears.' It can be prayed at weddings and on the gallows. And the fact is that it has been prayed at all these places. All seven colors of our life are contained in it, and so never is there a time when we are left alone.' The special power of Our Heavenly Father derives from the circumstances of its original delivery. These sermons were addressed to the peole of Stuttgart who continued to assemble throughout the horrors of the air raids, the declining days of a reign of terror, and finally through the period of total military and political collapse and the beginning of the occupation. Preaching in the midst of these apocalyptic events, Dr. Thielicke drove directly to the central meaning of the Lord's Prayer and presented the Gospel in an unforgettable way. Like his extremely popular The Waiting Father, the first book of his sermons to be published in America, this volume reveals Thielicke's prime secret of effective preaching - his inner solidarity and identification with his listeners. Each sermon shows how to find the point of contact with the congregation, how to appreciate contemporary ways of thinking and temperament, and how to use stirring language and fascinating images."

Genres: Prayer

157 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

What most impressed me about these sermons is the setting. They were preached in Germany during WWII as the Allies were progressing into Germany and bombing the very city where Thielicke was preaching. There are probably 4 or 5 footnotes explaining that Thielicke and his congregation were forced to change were they held their worship service because the previous church (and eventually all the churches in Stuttgart) were destroyed by air raids. Thus, these sermons on the Lord's Prayer took were more interwoven with the theme of praying and worshipping in the midst of suffering than I've thought about before.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading this book at the start of lent (and during the last few weeks of a pregnancy) in my evening devotion rotation. These sermons, written during air raid bombing missions during WW2, show the orthodoxy of teaching in their ability to span time and space. I was moved to tears countless times hearing the accounts of living in such perilous times but also appropriately convicted and reminded of God's grace in the application of law and Gospel. This will go in my regular rotation to read again and again and be added to my shelf of books my children must read to graduate our homeschool.

[Stewart Lindstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book to be taken slowly and savored. Thielicke was a pastor in Germany's Confessing Church as World War II drew to a close. His insights on thr Lord's Prayer are among the humblest I've ever read.

[DoRena · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treasure! These sermons are insightful, comforting, and just as applicable to life in 21st century America as they were to their original audience--German citizens living through the horrors of WWII.

"The Lord's prayer is truly the prayer that spans the world; the world of everyday trifles and universal history, the world of citizens and soldiers, the world of monotonous routine and sudden terrible catastrophe, the world of carefree children and at the same time of problems that can shatter grown men. The whole world rests in the hand of the Lord, like the golden orb we see in medieval pictures. And it also rests in our hands when we lift it to God in prayer."

[Mmetevelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of sermons on the Lord's prayer. I used it for research on a class I taught on the Lord's Prayer over the summer. These were sermons given during the dark and final days of the Second World War in Germany. Theilicke's words penetrate to the heart of Christian hope while honestly grappling with the devastation of war and the overall pain of the human experience.

I can't recommend this enough for anyone who wants to reflect on how Jesus taught us to pray the prayer "that spans the world."

[Matt Allhands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thielicke's sermons based on the Lord's Prayer manage to honor the content of the prayer in Matthew's Gospel while at the same time conveying their theological import within the life and context of his congregation. This is a great book for those who want to learn more about what the Lord's Prayer and the life of faith because Thielicke answers questions and objections about prayer by revealing the character of God to whom we pray.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The similarities between the church of WWII Germany and the church of 2021 America are eye opening and humbling.

[Ken Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this book, I found that the impact of each chapter (sermon) seemed to sneak up on me and take me by surprise! Thielicke seemed to preach from such a unique perspective, with such fresh insights and with such pastoral care that I felt encouraged by each sermon. Perhaps it was partly due to the context in which these sermons were preached. Thielicke was a German theologian who was preaching these sermons in Germany at the time when the allies were aggressively bombing his city. The series could not be completed in the location in which it began because his church building was destroyed along with a great deal of the rest of his city. One sermon was even interrupted by an air raid as sirens alerted them to take cover. It felt an honour to read the sermons of such a loving, Christ-focused leader, who persevered through great trials as he sought to keep his congregation's eyes on the Lord through such a trying time.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty years ago I discovered Helmut Thielicke. I just finished Our Heavenly Father for the second time. It remains an excellent book on prayer, as well as theology and Christian living.

Thielicke preached this series of sermons in Stuttgart, during and after the bombing raids of WWII. This gives his presentation of praying the Lord's Prayer a unique perspective. How does one teach the Lord's Prayer to those who have lost fathers, husbands, sons to warfare? How does one preach the Lord's Prayer to those who have lost home and livelihood to war? Thielicke did just that! This isn't a feel-good, life if great look at the Lord's Prayer. This is a "we have every reason to doubt, but this is why we won't" look at the Lord's Prayer.

This is vital reading for spiritual depth, especially for those who live inside their comfort zone in safety. When life's atrocities and travesties hit, you'll be glad you learned to pray the Lord's Prayer from this book.

[Heidi]

My husband (and pastor) is doing a Lenten series on the Lord's Prayer; I'm reading Thielicke's sermons on the side, along with the chapter on the Lord's Prayer in "Jesus through Middle-Eastern Eyes." Lots of food for thought all around. Thielcke wrote his sermons during the worst of WWII . . . his words are poignant and filled with insight.

. . . . It is quite an experience to be reading along and there in the middle of a paragraph is an * with a note at the bottom of the page where the author explains that at this point in his sermon, he was interrupted by falling bombs that destroyed what little remained of their church. A profoundly moving read for me.