I often feel overwhelmed by prayer. There are so many different methods, and I never know whether I'm doing it right, and on top of all that, it's just very mysterious. But when his disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, he makes it all seem so simple: "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation" (11:2-4).
The early Christian theologian Tertullian called the Lord's Prayer "truly the summary of the whole Gospel." St. Thomas Aquinas called it "the most perfect of prayers." And the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it "the fundamental Christian prayer."
It is, then, a worthy model for all of our prayer. We begin with worship, and only then move on to petitions for our spiritual and material needs. Whether we have a perfect understanding of prayer or not, we know that we ought to do it, and that God will be faithful, for as Jesus says, "everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened" (11:10).
(Image: Albrecht Durer, "Praying Hands," 1508)
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I often wonder whether we overthink prayer too much. Jesus Himself taught us how... the more I pray this prayer, the more meaningful it becomes in its simplicity.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I do. Even though I know the most important rule of prayer is "just do it," all too often I let details and circumstances -- not to mention my own laziness -- derail me.
ReplyDeleteRecall the parable of the seed. Must tend the soil of the soul and blessed are the poor in spirit. Helps to ask for the grace to pray. All glory to God
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