Prayer, Some Reflections

“Teach us to pray, asks one of Jesus disciples (Luke 11:1-13), as John taught his disciples to pray.”  Since the dawn of consciousness human beings of all faiths, and perhaps even people with no faith, have thought about prayer, talked about prayer, tried to pray and given up on prayer.  At times many of us believe our prayers have been answered and at other times feel that our prayers never “make it out of the room.” 

I want to reflect on a few questions about prayer in hopes that it will help someone (if only myself) as they struggle with some of these same questions.  What is Prayer? How does prayer work? Does prayer work? What is the difference between prayer and magic? Does God change the natural order of things to answer our prayers? 

Certainly this is not an exhaustive list of questions about prayer but will hopefully spur you to conversations and reflections about this ubiquitous area of human life 

We begin by looking at Jesus’ response to the disciple’s request in Luke 11.  Luke’s version of this prayer is shorter and more direct than the corresponding version found in the Gospel of Matthew and therefore likely closer to the original.  In Luke we find five petitions rather than the seven found in Matthew.  They seem to me to be short, sweet and to the point: 

·         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 indebted to us.

·         And do not bring us to the time of trial 

First Jesus tells the disciples (and hopefully us, by extension) to recognize God’s holiness and therefore the holiness of all that is.  Then we ask that God’s kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven (my reflection).  Next we ask for what we need today:  Just today, not tomorrow, or next week, but today.  Food for today, work for today, relationships for today.  Remember what happened when the children of Israel tried to gather enough Manna for two days?  Yes, the manna turned into worms. Ugh. 

Then we ask to be forgiven of our sins, because we have already forgiven those who have hurt us (maybe?)  And last but not least we ask God to protect us from the trials and tribulations of this life, to be with us when they come and to help pick us up when we fall. 

This is the beginning of prayer: To whom do we pray; for what do we pray; how do we use what we receive; will prayer help God heal our divisions and give us a chance to start anew; be with us, guide us and protect us. 

This is a good foundation for prayer, and it is followed by a parable encouraging persistence.

“And he said to them, Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” 

This persistence is vital and I believe also binds us together with others in our prayer, strengthening our relationships with one another and with God (not unlike being bound together by the Holy Eucharist.  But,  Luke 11 then takes us into dangerous waters.  Prayers of petition!  Are we beginning to ask God to perform magic tricks, to re-arrange the natural order or setting ourselves up for failure when our prayers do not appear to be answered.  How does this affect our faith or the faith of others who have heard and been taught the following lesson from Luke 11. 

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 

I continue my reflections on prayer based on Luke 11: 1-13 and I invite your reflection and response as well.  I believe that this form of the Lord’s prayer invites us to praise God, ask for what we need, participate in the living out of God’s Kingdom.   I believe the key to prayer is this: risk openness to others as God in Christ risked openness to us and for us. 

We bind ourselves to one another in praying for their needs and asking them to pray for ours.  We risk “failure:” why did my loved one die, we all prayed?  Why did someone less worthy get the job instead of me? What we gain through prayer is trust, persistence, and faith.  We learn to trust others because we believe we can trust God.  Persistence helps us to learn how to pray and being bound together with others in prayer gives us the courage to pray, NO MATTER WHAT!