Lord, teach us to pray.

In the gospel, Jesus was praying by himself.  The disciples observing Jesus at prayer then asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  Jesus responds by giving us a brief catechism on prayer.

Jesus lives in a rhythm of prayer and action, swimming in both the waters of God and the waters of the world.  He knows when he must turn toward God and when he must turn toward the incessant demands of the world.  In the rhythm of our spiritual life, we seek this balance.  We too seek to swim in the waters of God and in the waters of the world; we seek greater awareness when to turn toward God in prayer and when to turn in service to the many needs that surround us in the world.        

Without any doubt, all of us seek to connect with God in our lives.  This is the purpose of our prayer.  Indeed any time we gather liturgically, we pray the Lord’s Prayer.  In prayer, we recognize the awesome holiness of God who wants to share his life with us.  It’s not about us, it’s about God.  Jesus came to proclaim the reign of God, and he calls his disciples to realize it.  Jesus invites us to the Eucharistic table where he is the bread of life.  As we ask God to nourish us, we must be ready to nourish our hungry brothers and sisters.  We come to the Eucharistic table confessing that we have sinned and asking God and our brothers and sisters to forgive us.

I suggest our greatest temptation to our faith life is indifference.  It’s not that people are atheists or agnostics.  It’s not that people have actively rejected God and defied God by sinning.  They simply are indifferent.  They are too busy about other things.

The Mass we celebrate is in itself a prayer.  Not to pray is to show God our indifference.  To turn

Sunday Mass into something that is only optional is to tell God that for us He is only optional.  For sure, we would not say that God is optional in the way we profess our faith in words, but we need to challenge ourselves and ask if the way we live our life matches the words we say.

As you reflect on your prayer life, too often are we too indifferent to deepening our relationship with God?   Do our deeds reflect that prayer works only when we can fit it into our busy schedule, or do we say that prayer is the first requirement of a disciple of Jesus?  The rest of the day then is structured around our times of prayer.

The disciples have been taught the words of prayer in the Lord’s Prayer but more is needed.  We need to have the proper inner disposition.  We must open our hearts to our giving and forgiving God.  We need to trust that we are in the hands of God, and that all will be well for those who trust in the immensity of God’s love for us.

  

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us how to pray.  Most important, he teaches to whom we pray – a loving and caring Father into whom we entrust our concerns and our lives.  Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit. 

We begin the Lord’s Prayer by addressing God as Father.  All who offer this prayer are children of one Father, thus brothers and sisters to one another.  We the faith community of the Church of the Holy Spirit are brothers and sisters to one another.  There are to be no strangers among us -- only friends who perhaps have not yet met.

Before we petition God with our human needs, we say “hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”  We first unite ourselves with the being and the activity of God.  God invites us into an intimate relationship in which we see ourselves, and then we can feel free to boldly ask for what we need.

Jesus teaches to pray.   He also teaches us for what we pray:  not just for immediate needs, but, more important, for ultimate needs:  the furthering of God’s kingdom, the gift of forgiveness, and protection from anything that would take us from God.

Jesus teaches us not only the words to pray, but what deeds must match authentic prayer.  So, we are given three important truths about prayer.  The first comes from the parable of the persistent friend.  A pesky neighbor disturbs a sleeping friend and disrupts the household. In this parable, Jesus teaches us the need for persistence in our prayer life.

    

Then Jesus invites to be bold in asking for what we need – no need to be timid about our prayers of petition.  “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find.”  The Lord invites us to present our needs before Him confident that our prayers will be heard.

Finally Jesus says:  “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?...How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Prayer then, for the disciple, is not imposing our will on God, but opening ourselves to God’s will for us.  For this to happen, within us and within the community, the Holy Spirit is indeed the gift that is needed.

In this Gospel, Jesus not only teaches us the words to say in the Lord’s prayer, but Jesus gives us also a window into the heart of God who can give be trusted to give us His beloved children always not what we want but always what we need.