The

Amidah
ancient Christian practices series.

Now when Jesus was

praying in a certain
place…one of his disciples
said to Him, “Lord, teach
us to pray”…And He said
to them, “When you pray,
say ‘Father, hallowed be
Your name…’”
- Luke 11:1-2
History of the Amidah
The Amidah (“The Standing Prayer”) is an ancient liturgical prayer that
lies at the very heart of Jewish life and liturgy. Observant Jews pray the
Amidah at each prayer service of the day – morning, afternoon, and
evening. It is also at the center of the weekly Shabbat (Sabbath) service.
The Amidah contains 19 blessings (it originally contained 18) and takes
about seven minutes to recite. However, when it is impractical to pray the
entire Amidah, Jews are allowed to pray a shortened version of the
prayer.
Here are examples of shortened Amidah prayers that Rabbis taught their
disciples:
May your will be done in heaven above, grant peace of mind to those
who fear you [on earth] below, and do what seems best to you.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who answers prayer.1
- Rabbi Eliezer
Hear the supplication of your people Israel and quickly fulfill their
request. Blessed are you, O Lord who answers prayer.2
- Rabbi Yehoshua
The needs of your people Israel are many but they do not know how to
ask for their needs. May it be your will, O Lord our God, to sustain
each and every one and to supply each person what is needed.
Blessed are you, O Lord who answers prayer.3
- Unknown
These shortened Amidah prayers contain thoughts that are strikingly
similar to the prayer that Jesus taught His disiciples (often refered to as
The Lord’s Prayer). Jesus, being a 1st century Jewish rabbi, would have
taught His disciples a shortened version of the Amidah for them to recite
during times when praying the entire Amidah was impractical. Also,
Jesus himself would have prayed through the Amidah three times a day
since He was an observant Jew living in Israel. It is very likely then that
The Lord’s Prayer is a shortened Amidah prayer for His disciples to recite
when praying the full Amidah is impractical.
1
Bivin, David New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, p. 59 (2007)
2
Bivin, David New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, p. 59 (2007)
3
Bivin, David New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, p. 59 (2007)
Messianic Jews around the world continue to pray the Amidah as do
non-Jewish Christians wishing to experience the rich heritage of their
faith. Liturgical prayers, like the Amidah, have been foundational to
Christianity since the inception of the Church. Make it a habit to pray
the Amidah with passion and a desire to enter into the presence of God.
Practice
1. If possible, stand with your feet together – This prayer posture
imitates the vision of angels that Ezekiel saw (Ezekiel 1:17).
2. Before you recite the Amidah, take three steps backward and
three steps forward – The three steps backward represent withdrawing
your attention from the material world and the three steps forward
represent approaching the King of Kings.
3. Bowing –At four points during the Amidah you will bow, at the
beginning and end of the first blessing and the eighteenth blessing.
When you pray, “Blessed” bend your knee, and then bow your torso
when you say “are You”, and finally stand back up when you say, “O
Lord.” Worshipers bow because the word for blessed is related to
‘knee.’
4. Recite the Amidah silently and without interruption – This
reminds the one praying of Hannah’s behavior during her prayer in the
Temple (1 Samuel 1:13).
5. Service of the Heart – The Amidah is only worthwhile if you focus
all your emotion and desire on the words of the prayer. If you find
yourself simply praying the prayer by rote, simply restart the current
blessing you were praying through.
6. Shortened Version of the Amidah – For a shortened version of the
Amidah, when it is impractical for you to pray the entire Amidah, see
the back of this prayer guide.
 The Amidah: A Christian Version
Adapted from David Bivin’s New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, (2007)
1. THE GOD OF HISTORY
Blessed are You, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the great, mighty and
revered God, the Most High God who bestows loving-kindnesses, the
creator of all things, who remembers the good deeds of the patriarchs and
in love brought a redeemer to their children's children for Your name's
sake. O king, helper, savior and shield. Blessed are You, O Lord, the
shield of Abraham.
2. THE GOD OF NATURE
You, O Lord, are mighty forever, You revive the dead, You have the
power to save. You sustain the living with loving kindness, You revive
the dead with great mercy, You support the falling, heal the sick, set free
the bound and keep faith with those who sleep in the dust. Who is like
You, O doer of mighty acts? Who resembles You, a king who puts to
death and restores to life, and causes salvation to flourish? And You are
certain to revive the dead. Blessed are You, O Lord, who revives the
dead.
3. SANCTIFICATION OF GOD
We will sanctify Your name in this world just as it is sanctified in
the highest heavens, as it is written by Your prophet: "And they call out to
one another and say: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole
earth is full of His glory.'" [Isa. 6:3] "Blessed be the Presence of the
LORD in His place." [Ezek. 3:12] And in Your Holy Words it is written,
saying, "The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all
generations. Hallelujah." [Ps. 146:10] Throughout all generations we will
declare Your greatness, and to all eternity we will proclaim Your
holiness. Your praise, O our God, shall never depart from our mouth, for
You are a great and holy God and King. Blessed are You, O Lord, the
holy God. You are holy, and Your name is holy, and holy beings praise
You daily. (Selah.) Blessed are You, O Lord, the holy God.
4. PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING
You favor men with knowledge, and teach mortals understanding.
O favor us with the knowledge, the understanding and the insight that
come from You. Blessed are you, O Lord, the gracious giver of
knowledge.
5. FOR REPENTANCE
Bring us back, O our Father, to Your Instruction; draw us near, O our
King, to Your service; and cause us to return to You in perfect
repentance. Blessed are You, O Lord, who delights in repentance.
6. FOR FORGIVENESS
Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, O our King,
for we have transgressed; for You pardon and forgive. Blessed are You,
O Lord, who is merciful and always ready to forgive.
7. FOR DELIVERANCE FROM AFFLICTION
Look upon our affliction and plead our cause, and redeem us speedily
for Your name's sake, for You are a mighty redeemer. Blessed are You,
O Lord, the redeemer of all mankind.
8. FOR HEALING
Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed; save us and we will be saved,
for You are our praise. O grant a perfect healing to all our ailments, for
You, almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer. Blessed are
You, O Lord, the healer of the sick of his people Israel.
9. FOR DELIVERANCE FROM WANT
Bless this year for us, O Lord our God, together with all the varieties of
its produce, for our welfare. Bestow a blessing upon the face of the
earth. O satisfy us with Your goodness, and bless our year like the best
of years. Blessed are You, O Lord, who blesses the years.
10. FOR PROTECTION OF THE PERSECUTED
May your hand of protection be upon those who suffer for Your name’s
sake, O Lord. They serve you with boldness, with little regard for their
own safety, so that your kingdom may be advanced. Protect and watch
over them this day that they may continue to speak Your Word.
11. FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO BREAK FORTH
O Lord, we long to see the kingdom of God on earth. Blessed be Your
name in all the earth. May we pray as Jesus taught us to pray when He
said, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’
[Mt. 6:10]
12. FOR THE REPENTACE OF THE SINFUL
Lord, You offered Yourself as a sacrifice on Calvary that all may enter
Your kingdom. All around us we find people that do not know You. Give
us boldness to tell of Your love. May those that hear the Gospel have ears
to hear and hearts prepared to receive You.
13. FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND PROSELYTES
May Your compassion be stirred, O Lord our God, towards the righteous,
the pious, the elders of Your people, the Church of Christ Jesus, the
remnant of their scholars, towards proselytes, and towards us also. Grant
a good reward to all who truly trust in Your name. Set our lot with them
forever so that we may never be put to shame, for we have put our trust in
You. Blessed are You, O Lord, the support and stay of the righteous.
14. FOR THE REPENTANCE OF ISRAEL
Return in mercy to Your people Israel, O Lord, and draw them near to
You as You have promised in Your Word. Revive them soon in our day
as an eternal reminder of Your faithfulness. Blessed are you, O Lord, who
will draw the hearts of Israel back to You.
15. FOR THE MESSIANIC KING
Thank You, O Lord God, that the offspring of Your servant David has
come as a “propitiation for our sins.” [1 Jn. 2:2] And “God has highly
exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” [Phil. 2:9-11] Blessed are you, O Lord,
who causes salvation to flourish.
16. FOR THE ANSWERING OF PRAYER
Hear our voice, O Lord our God; spare us and have pity on us. Accept our
prayer in mercy and with favor, for You are a God who hears prayers and
supplications. O our King, do not turn us away from Your presence
empty-handed, for You hear the prayers of Your Church with
compassion. Blessed are You, O Lord, who hears prayer.
17. FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
Your Word promises that “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God…[and] we who are alive…will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we will always be with the Lord.” [1 Thes. 4:16-17] Come, Lord Jesus,
come!
18. THANKSGIVING FOR GOD'S UNFAILING MERCIES
Blessed are You, O Lord, whose Name is the Beneficent One, and to
whom it is fitting to give thanks. We give thanks to You that You are
the Lord our God and the God of our fathers forever and ever. Through
every generation You have been the rock of our lives, the shield of our
salvation. We will give You thanks and declare Your praise for our
lives that are committed into Your hands, for our souls that are
entrusted to You, for Your miracles that are daily with us, and for Your
wonders and Your benefits that are with us at all times, evening,
morning and noon. O beneficent one, Your mercies never fail; O
merciful one, Your loving-kindnesses never cease. We have always put
our hope in You. For all these acts may your name be blessed and
exalted continually, O our King, forever and ever. Let every living thing
give thanks to You and praise Your name in truth, O God, our salvation
and our help. (Selah.) Blessed are You, O Lord, whose Name is the
Beneficent One, and to whom it is fitting to give thanks.
19. FOR PEACE
Grant peace, welfare, blessing, grace, loving-kindness and mercy to us
and to all Your people. Bless us, O our Father, one and all, with the
light of Your countenance; for by the light of your countenance You
have given us, O Lord our God, life in the Scriptures, loving-kindness
and salvation, blessing, mercy, life and peace. May it please You to
bless your Church at all times and in every hour with Your peace.
Blessed are You, O Lord, who blesses his Church with peace. In the
mighty name of Jesus Christ, the strong Son of God, amen.
 Jesus’ Shortened Version of the Amidah
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. [For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and
ever. Amen.]” (Matthew 6:9-13)