Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 21, 2007 - St. Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ
[2 Corinthians 11:1-11 and Matthew 6:7-15]In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This is how you are to pray: 'Our Father who art in heaven......'
Occasionally I am asked the question: If God knows what we need before we ask, why should we pray? If one reads Jesus' instruction to the disciples in the sermon on the mount, one can get a rather complete course on prayer. First of all, as Jesus points out, it is not the quantity of words that matters. I often hear people speak about not praying "enough." They are misled if they mean quantity. If they mean quality and relationship, they may be on the right track. Second, the first line of the prayer that Jesus teaches really establishes the foundation of all prayer. Prayer is the expression of a relationship. The first line of Jesus' prayer acknowledges a "Father in heaven...." The second acknowledges the need we have of God's help for daily existence. It also acknowledges that in our relationship with God and neighbor we all fall short and are in need of forgiveness from God AND one another. Notice that both God AND neighbor figure into this - the greatest commandment of the law - love of God and neighbor expressed in terms of forgiveness received and given. The difficulty is that these familiar words often become "a" prayer instead of being prayer. We say them without thinking or being intentional about their meaning. Thus, by saying so many "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys" and "Glory be's" we somehow console ourselves that by the sheer number we gain a hearing. We need not worry about being heard, we just need to think about what we are saying and who we're talking to! AMEN
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