Praying the Shema as Christians
What is the Shema?
The Shema is one of the most famous declarations in the Bible and we find it in Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
It was a daily declaration and prayer of the Israelites, being held to be the heart of all the law. It is still recited today by many Jews, often as they awake in the morning and just before they go sleep at night. In this way, the day is enveloped in this prayer.
Its name, Shema, comes from the first word of verse 4, which in English is translated as “hear”. Moses has been addressing the new generation of Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. They have come out of Egypt and journeyed through the wilderness, seeing:
The uniqueness of their God Yahweh
The gods of Egypt couldn’t stop Israel leaving
No other god has been able to stand in their way.
So, Moses is urging them not to repeat the mistakes of their parents’ generation, wanting them to experience the full blessing of life in their new land. But to do so, they must learn to listen to and love their God Yahweh fully.
How do we pray the Shema today?
We pray the Shema with the whole story of Scripture in view, affirming who our God is and committing ourselves to him to play our part in this story.
1. Begin with listening
As the word Shema means “hear”, but carrying the sense of hearing with the intention to obey, we open ourselves to God to hear and obey him.
Lord, help us to hear your voice today. Quiet our distractions and open our hearts to your Word.
2. Confess God’s uniqueness
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Spend time in God’s presence, meditating on the wonder of who he is and asking him to align our lives with him.
You alone are God. We worship you and give you our allegiance above all else.
3. Offer our whole selves
Our one God deserves our exclusive loyalty. We seek to love him with our whole being – our minds, hearts and actions. We ask him to write his laws, his ways, on our hearts by his Spirit.
We love you with all our heart. Purify our desires and affections.
We love you with all our soul. Let our whole life belong to you.
We love you with all our strength. Help us to use our time, energy, gifts and resources for your kingdom.
We pray this also for our children, our family members, our church.
4. Connect it to Jesus
Jesus identified the Shema as the greatest commandment (Matt 22:34-40). And Paul reworked the Shema to include Jesus within the One God (1 Cor 8:6). To pray the Shema then is to become Jesus-shaped.
Lord Jesus, teach us to love the Father as you do. By your Spirit, enable us to become like you, faithful and obedient. May we walk with you today. We acknowledge you as our only LORD and the One through whom we live. And we pray that we the church will be one as you and the Father are one.
5. Continue with mission
Deuteronomy immediately connects loving God to teaching God’s ways and walking in them daily. Jesus too adds the commandment, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Paul uses the Shema when he says, “God our Saviour… wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Tim 2:3-6).
May your Word be in our hearts today. Help us to love our neighbours, serve others and share and reflect Christ wherever we go.
6. End with praise
Revelation looks forward to the uniting of all things and with all peoples worshipping the one God together. Whatever is happening in the world, this is our certain hope.
God, we celebrate your eternal presence and are encouraged to act with love and imagine a better world – one God, one people, one world. Amen.