It was Saint Augustine I think who said, “Man is a beggar before God.” Our readings encourage us that when we beg for what are right and just, our loving Father answers. In our first reading Abraham begs God to not destroy Sodom a city consumed by sin because in the midst of it all there are good people, even saints. God responds favorably to Abraham’s persistent prayer. Our psalm response declares and reassures, “Lord, on the day I called for help you answered me.” St. Paul in the 2nd reading reminds us that we received new life in baptism when as free gift we became adopted children of God and therefore can call on God as our Father in our prayer.
The Gospel reminds us that Jesus prayed regularly especially before significant events were to occur. Surely the disciples would have noticed. They were for the most part religious people, some having been disciples of John the Baptist. Yet there must have been a sense that there is something more as they observed Jesus. He taught by example as well as by word. So it would be a natural question for his disciples to ask how they should pray.
The apostles and disciples were not unlike us. Surely like us they wanted to pray in a way that was both acceptable to God and comforting to them. Surely like us they were distracted at times. Surely like us they doubted at times. Surely like us their prayer on occasion became routine or dry. So perhaps one of the motivations when they asked Jesus to teach them was to be able to pray in a way that enriched their already spiritual lives. We are the beneficiaries of his response.
He responded by instructing them in what we know as the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer. Today’s reading is the version revealed in the Gospel of Luke. It is different from the one we pray at Mass from the Gospel of Matthew. Some have cited ‘these two versions as a reason to question the authenticity of the Gospels. Sacred scripture of course is not a precise history but the revealed word of God recorded to teach and inspire. Surely something as core as how to pray Jesus would have taught in different forums and in other ways, both on the mountain and in the valley.
Both versions begin with calling God Father, reminding us that we are adopted children of God through baptism. The first three petitions are reflected toward God. When we pray ‘Our Father who art in heaven’ we recognize that our life came from and our destiny is with God the Father. When we pray ‘Hallowed be thy name’, we pray in praise and thanksgiving and gratefully acknowledge God’s presence in our lives.
When we pray ‘thy will be done’ we recognize that what is God’s will for us is better than what we may will for ourselves at any given moment. God is love. He answers our prayer only in ways that are good for us. A little girl prayed at Christmas for a thousand dolls. After Christmas her father said to her, ‘I see God did not answer your prayer.’ ‘Yes, he did,’ she responded. ‘He said no’. Wise beyond her years.
One commentator wrote that the last four petitions of the Our Father “takes the whole of life to the whole of God and the whole of God to the whole of life.”
When we pray ‘’give us this day our daily bread we pray to the Father for what we need in the present. It is a declaration that we trust in God for our daily needs, physical and spiritual. When we pray’ forgive us our trespasses’ we pray to the Son for our need and desire to put behind us the past. When we pray ‘lead us not into temptation or do not subject us to the final test’ we pray to the Holy Spirit to be our guide and counselor for the future. The whole of life – past, present and future and the whole of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit are present in these few words.
The Our Father prayed with intensity lifts us beyond ourselves to place our lives in the hands of God. It also unites us with one another because when we pray it we pray not just for ourselves but for and with us all.
Charles Thompson wrote this little poem that catches the essence of this communal nature: ‘You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say ‘I’. You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say ‘my’. Nor can you pray the Lord’s prayer and not pray for another; for when you ask for daily bread, you must include your brother. For others are included in each every plea. From the beginning to the end of it, is does not once say ‘me’.
Jesus concludes this teaching on how to pray by encouraging us to be persistent in prayer. We cannot wear God down by persistence, but we can be changed by persistent prayer. I know this from personal experience. I have prayed on occasion to be relieved from the burdens of heavy decisions I must make as a bishop about which there was no clear direction. Over time new perspective has been received and the recognition that what I was concerned about was not as important or as great a burden as I had thought. As a result I could move on with joy.
The story is told of a man who had one son. He gave him everything he needed and wanted, but his son yearned for a brother, someone to play with and become friends with. So his family adopted a boy about the same age. The two became brothers in the fullest sense of that word. One day when they were playing catch with a football the adopted brother thought of his past life and those who were his friends then who were still suffering from the lack of so many things he now received as free gift. He said to his brother, “I wish my old friend Kenny could have a football like this one. He loves football but his parents cannot afford one”.
His new brother responded: “why don’t you ask dad to get him one?” The response was that he did not want to impose on the man who had been so generous to him. “Don’t forget that my dad is your dad’, the other brother answered. ‘He gives me whatever I ask of him. If he thinks it is not good for me he will say so. Lots of times he gives me something better. Just ask him.” The friend Kenny got a football and the adopted son learned a key lesson. Our Father gives us what is good for us when we ask in humility through prayer.
St. Francis de Sales wrote: ‘With God we should feel like a child in its mother’s arms, if he carries us on the left arm or on the right, it is all the same to us, we let him do what he wants.’ When we pray with humility and trust, we want him to do with us as he wants, for he is our Father.