I just finished this book, and I was more enthusiastic about the idea of the book than actually reading the book.  It’s not that the content was bad, in fact it was very good, but the authors weren’t very compelling.  When I think back on the story, it was a good story that tied in a lot of really good insights into the Lord’s Prayer.  I think one of the most impacting insights for me was in the line “Do not lead us into temptation,” which they translated as “Do not bring us into the hands of a test” from Matthew in Hebrew.  They said that the word in Greek versions of Matthew could be translated as either temptation or test, but that in the Hebrew, it translates as test.  It is actually the same word used when the Pharisees ‘test’ Jesus.  They quoted a prayer from a little-known Isrealite sage named Agur that is actually recorded in Proverbs:

“Two things I ask of you, O Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

They point out that many versions of the Lord’s Prayer say temptation, and many say test, but if you look elsewhere, it says that God doesn’t tempt.  So for us to ask God to not lead us into temptation is like saying, “God, can you please refrain from doing what you don’t do.”  But God does test.  He tested Abraham.  He tested Job.  Psalm 138:23 says “test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  So for us to ask God not to test us, is saying that we are recognizing that we are depraved.  Agur knew this and asked God not to make him rich or poor.  This is new to me, and something that I am looking forward to praying for the rest of my days.