Millennium Prayer by Cliff Richard

• This song is the words of The Lord’s Prayer (“Our father, who art in heaven…) with the tune of “Auld Lang Syne.” It is the first and so far only UK #1 to be in blank verse.
• This was a hit despite being ignored by radio stations as they deemed the song to be uncool. EMI, Cliff Richard’s record label for 40 years, refused to promote it so Cliff took it to an independent label, Papillon.
• The proceeds from this went to the charity Children’s Promise: The Millennium Final Hour Appeal. It raised £1 million.
• The song’s writer, Paul Field, was watching Princess Diana’s funeral at a service station on a large screen along with a large crowd. As The Lord’s Prayer was recited, many joined in. Paul realized that although this was a secular age with falling church attendance, most people were familiar with The Lord’s Prayer.

  Inspired by that thought, he set it to the tune of the traditional hymn “Auld Lang Syne” for a church musical, Hopes And Dreams. A CD was recorded using Cliff Richard, whom Paul knew. Cliff decided to record it as a single to tie in with the Christmas period and the Millennium celebrations. He reasoned that as The Lord’s Prayer celebrated Christmas and “Auld Lang Syne” the turn of the year, it would make an excellent single. It became the third-best seller of his career.

Our Father. (We come to you, Father, in perfect union, as one family.)  In heaven. (We come humbly, under your headship.)                                                                                                                         

This very prayer tells us how to pray! Have you noticed that Jesus taught a corporate prayer? The Lord continuously used plurals (our/we/us) when describing those who would model this prayer. The implication is as simple as it is profound: Jesus modelled that we are to pray as ONE family, joined in agreement with one another, under God!                                           

He continues:                                                                                                                                                                                         

Hallowed be your name. (Receive reverence and praise from all the Earth.) Your kingdom come. (May the gospel of Jesus go to all the Earth. Jesus, Come!)  Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. (May the world submit to your way.)                     Give us today our daily bread. (We ask for today’s provisions.)                                                                                                           

And forgive us our sins. (Wash us anew in the blood of Jesus.)  As we forgive those who sin against us. (We agree to follow the example of Jesus and refuse to hold onto unforgiveness.)                                                                                                                     

Lead us not into temptation. (Discipline us, so that we grow to maturity.)                                                                                          But deliver us from evil. (Save us from any snares we have wandered into.)                                                                                  Every prayer point above is entirely non-divisive amongst His body. Every believer can wholeheartedly agree with every statement – and so perfect unity is achieved in the prayer. But it is certainly not little things the Lord teaches us to pray!         

Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come; your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven”. Think about that for a second. He didn’t say: “that Earth may be closer to heaven”, but just AS IT IS in heaven. If Jesus told us to pray that, then it is entirely possible!                                                                                                                                                                                                     For yours is the kingdom. (Because we, the Church, belong to You!)                                                                                                   The power. (And you can do it all, by Your Spirit of power! (2 Tim 1:7))                                                                                              And the glory. (Jesus, who is fully God’s glory (John 13:31–32; Heb 1:3) is the way this can be.)                                                       Forever. (We know these prayers will be answered, because “It is finished!” and Your Church, your Spirit and Your Son Jesus can never be taken from You.)                                                                                                                                                                 Amen. (As one, we all agree.)                                                                                                                                                                  

How can all this come to be? Because we (the kingdom), the Spirit (the power) and Jesus (the glory) all belong to the Father!                                                                                                                                                                                        

WE have been given the authority to speak it into being, the Spirit has all the power to see it come to be, and Jesus is the way who has won every victory before it is prayed.                                                                                                                                         

But we, the kingdom, MUST FIRST PRAY!