Lord, teach us to pray

Listening to the Spirit

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
that my work, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
that I love but what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
that I always may be holy. Amen.

(St. Augustine)

Listening to the Word

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "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 in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Reflection

Lord, teach us to pray… this desire of the disciple is similar to the one of all disciples. After witnessing Jesus in prayer, especially in the gospel of Luke, now the disciple wants the same experience. He wants to live a relation with the Father like Jesus, as St. Augustine expresses with these words - Who learn how to pray, learn how to live. This must be the desire in the hearts of every disciple.

We are already in chapter 11 of Luke. Jesus is going to Jerusalem. He is on his way to the cross and resurrection. There is no better way to prepare himself and the disciples for that moment than with prayer, with the dialogue with the Father.

The request of the disciple comes after of the decision of Jesus to go to Jerusalem (9,51); sending the seventy-two and their return (10:1-20); and the examples of the Samaritan and Martha and Mary. These previous episodes are all in this journey to Jerusalem that now is manifested in the prayer of Jesus.

Each one of us can recall to mind our own experience of prayer. Maybe some of us were fortuned to learn the first prayer at home. With the people, we live since the first days of our lives. Mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, etc. All of them taught us something, one of these, maybe were the basic prayers. With that also they introduced ways for us to make decisions in our lives, to do something for others freely, to serve like the Samaritan and Martha and especially to listen like Mary. All these were fruits of the basic prayers we learn from them. In reality, more than prayers they taught us to live. To live like Jesus.

The request of the disciple: Lord, teach us to pray… is a demand to live like the master and to face the challenges on this journey to Jerusalem. There, Jesus will experience some dimensions of prayer that now He is telling the disciple. One of these important dimensions is silence. Yes, this is how important is silence in the prayer of Jesus and the disciples. The value and need for silence make us able to hear, to listen, to receive a word. Without silence, all these things are impossible, especially in our personal prayer. Jesus on his way and at the cross is able to that silence that made him ready to accomplish his Paschal Mystery.

Another important connection between silence and prayer is the silence of God. No other experience is more than Jesus himself at the cross. In all situations of prayer in the life of the disciple, these two are present. In our silence, we realize what we are doing what God is telling us in our prayer, in the silence of God there is the opportunity to see what God is doing for us. This is the time for us to purify our image of God.

In his prayer Jesus tells us who God is, the Father of all. As Father, He always listens and always answers, maybe not according to our expectation, but to His, as Father who is willing to give the most precious gift, the Holy Spirit for all those who ask Him.

More than to give us the possibility to call God Our Father, Jesus makes us realize to whose God we are praying. Not a magician willing to fulfill all our desires but to a Father who plans our growth and in this path educated us as beloved children.