For the first time, I feel I’m speaking to my Father.
I was on a consulting trip helping a minority group to check their translation of Matthew. We were working on the Lord’s Prayer. It was challenging to get the meaning and the style both right. Finally, after some hard work, we felt that the text was smooth and accurate. I said to the national translator: “Your people are going to pray these verses many times in the future. They are going to read them alone as well as every-body together. Let’s read the whole prayer once more and, this time, please listen to yourself reading it. Does it sound good also when said together aloud?” The national translator started to read it in her language: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” When she had finished, I saw that she had tears in her eyes. She said: “I have heard this prayer many times before in the national language, but this is the first time I heard it in my own language. For the first time, I feel I’m speaking to my Father.” We all felt it was a holy moment.
Please pray for this translation team and others, as they read and pray in their own language. May their hearts be touched, and may they experience the Father’s love and holiness in new ways.