February 24, 2021
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. – Luke 11:1-2
Jesus is asked by the disciples that they might be taught how to pray. Now, in Matthew’s gospel, we find the Lord’s Prayer much earlier in the story, during the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7), however the way Luke frame’s the giving of this prayer teaches us something about the wisdom of Jesus, and the way to follow him. Prayer is an important aspect of the faith walk, and Jesus spent many hours in solitude, praying, it was his time to keep focus on God’s will, and be prepared for the next step of the journey.
In much the same way, we need prayer in our lives to keep us focused. So often we use prayer in acts of desperation, to complain about how things have gone wrong, or to plead for something or someone to be better. But let us look to what Jesus teaches us about prayer to understand how prayer helps us become centered on what is most important.
When you pray, Jesus says, you start by acknowledging the one to whom we are praying. In the Lord’s prayer we say: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
Isn’t that just a wonderful thing to say? That the one to whom we pray is honored as holy, is greatly reverend and respected, and is consecrated and blessed. These attributes are our first acknowledgement in prayer of the God we serve. When we center ourselves on the one who is creator and sustainer of the universe, and know that God wants to hear our prayers, we know that God who could have created and walked away, cares deeply for all of us. It’s a centering moment that connects us with all that God has done and will do, and acknowledges we are small in the midst of God’s vast holiness. Still, God hears us and spared nothing for us to have access to the divine.
God spared not His own son that we could have life through Him. God spared not His Holy Spirit that we would have constant access to Him. God, our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name…
You who brings blessing after blessing, who appeals to our emotions by giving us comfort and grace, who appeals to our minds but giving us understanding and assurance, who calls us to come and love you will all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, that we would be a people who humbly bow and pray, for you are sacred, but have opened your doors that we might come in and have life everlasting in Your presence. Truly we bow and say, to Your name, God, be the glory. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Sam