THE RIGHT APPROACH TO PRAYER

20160216 THE RIGHT APPROACH TO PRAYER

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Isaiah 55:10-11 ©

Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’

Psalm

Psalm 33:4-7,16-19 ©

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

Glorify the Lord with me.

  Together let us praise his name.

I sought the Lord and he answered me;

  from all my terrors he set me free.

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

Look towards him and be radiant;

  let your faces not be abashed.

This poor man called, the Lord heard him

  and rescued him from all his distress.

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

  to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

The Lord turns his eyes to the just

  and his ears to their appeal.

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

They call and the Lord hears

  and rescues them in all their distress.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

  those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt4:4

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel

Matthew 6:7-15 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,

may your name be held holy,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.

And do not put us to the test,

but save us from the evil one.

‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’

THE RIGHT APPROACH TO PRAYER

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isa 55:10-11; Mt 6:7-15

During the season of Lent, one of the most important spiritual exercises is prayer.  But we must pray effectively and rightly or else prayer becomes another mere performance or just a thoughtless rambling as Jesus says, “In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard.  Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

How then should we pray?  In the first place, let us be clear that God desires to answer our prayers.  He is a God who wants our happiness above all things.  The responsorial psalm testifies that God wants to hear our prayers.  “I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. The Lord turns his face against the wicked to destroy their remembrance from the earth. The Lord turns his eyes to the just and his ears to their appeal. They call and the Lord hears and rescues them in all their distress. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save.”

However, if our prayers are to be answered, we need to pray according to the mind of God and not ours.   Effective prayer is always made through Christ in the Spirit.   This means that our prayers must be made always in union with the mind and heart of Jesus in the same Spirit.  Consequently, if we were to pray rightly, what better prayer could we pray if not always the prayer that Jesus has taught us.  The Lord’s Prayer is more than just a formula prayer but it is the prayer of Jesus Himself; His attitude and the key elements of an authentic prayer are found in this perfect prayer.  This accounts for why the Lord’s Prayer is called the pattern of all prayers.

In the first place, the disposition of anyone who prays must be that God is His heavenly Father.  For this reason, there is no need to harass God as if he were an angry deity or someone calculative or indifferent to our needs.  God is addressed as ‘Father’ to remind us that He cares more for our needs than we could ever imagine.  That is why Jesus said, “Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”  Every father cares for his children and provides the needs of his children even before they could ask him. So, too, is our heavenly Father.

Secondly, we pray that His name be kept holy.  This is a prayer that will reflect the holiness of God.  The child is the expression of the father.  So when we pray that His name be kept holy, we are asking that the way we live our lives may reflect the Father’s love and compassion for all.  Otherwise, if we live a life of sin and selfishness, we will discredit the image of our heavenly Father.  Indeed, the real enemies of our faith are not non-Catholics but our nominal and lapsed Catholics because they live contradictory lives and are counter-witnesses to our faith in Christ.  But when we live holy lives, then God is known and loved through us.   In living a life of holiness, we free ourselves from sin and misery.

Thirdly, every prayer, in the final analysis, must always be aligned with the mind of God.  Asking that His will be done is to recognize the wisdom and providence of God.  Whether it is Jesus or Mary, their secret is always to do the will of our heavenly Father.   Both Mary and Jesus in their lives sought to do the will of God and not theirs.   So too, if we truly believe that God is our Father and that He loves us, we should desire only what He wills for us.  Like children, we need to trust and surrender our lives into the hands of our heavenly Father who knows what is best for each one of us.  Mary tells us to do whatever He tells us!

Fourthly, in prayer, we should ask what is basic for us in life.  We must not be greedy because no one, not even God, can satisfy our greed.  Thus the Lord’s Prayer simply invites us to ask for our daily bread, what we need and for today.  Again, God wants us to know that as our Father, He will look after us.  If we ask for what we need, the Lord will supply.  The problem is that we are asking more than what we need; and we want to have more so that our security is found in ourselves and the world’s goods, not in God our heavenly Father.   Asking for our daily needs will help us to live a life of contentment and detachment in freedom.

Fifthly, the most important petition that can give us true peace and happiness is the gift of forgiveness of our sins and the sins of others.  This seems to be the most important petition because among all the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer, He elaborated on this petition. “And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.”   He added, “Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.”   What we need most in life is forgiveness of ourselves and of others who have offended us.   This is necessary if we were to find true healing of mind and soul.  Many people want to seek God’s forgiveness, but they are unwilling to forgive themselves for their past mistakes; or they cannot forgive those who have hurt them.  They carry with them the history of their past, their hurts and pain which do them no good except to burden them down.   What they must do, as Jesus exhorts us, is to forgive others and ourselves.

Finally, we need to avoid the occasion of sin.  We must always pray, “And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.”   The only way to overcome sin is to run away from sin.  The truth is not that the Evil One tempts us to sin but we tempt the Evil One to tempt us to sin by giving Him the occasions.   Knowing how weak we are, we should not allow ourselves to be in those situations when we know we will fall into sin, whether it is smoking, drinking, gambling, pornography or the sin of lust.   Asking God to deliver us from sin implies that we must cooperate with His grace by avoiding the opportunities for the Devil to tempt us.

Indeed, if only we pray in this way, according to the mind of God and the Spirit of Christ, we can be certain that our prayers would be heard and His Kingdom will indeed come to our lives.  Praying that His kingdom come means that if we find happiness it is because God rules our lives and we live by His Spirit.   Putting on the heart and mind of Christ, we will find peace and joy like Jesus, even when we suffer for doing what is right and good.   This is the same promise made by the prophet when the Lord says, “As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.”   Since the Lord’s Prayer itself is the Word of God par excellence, as it is spoken by Jesus and not simply by any prophet, then all the more, how efficacious and powerful this prayer could be for us who pray it with conviction.

Finally, the Lord’s Prayer is not just the prayer of our Lord but in truth, all the fundamental attitudes and principles of this prayer are found all over the bible.  All these petitions contained in the Lord’s Prayer are found in the psalms particularly, especially when the psalmist prays for God’s deliverance and assistance, for the grace to walk in the right path, for forgiveness and for their daily needs.   Indeed, the Lord’s Prayer for the Church is the pattern of all prayers and the basic model for all Christian prayers.  In whatever spontaneous prayer we formulate; it must somehow contain some if not all the petitions contained therein and express the attitudes of surrender, trust and obedience to His will and His divine providence.   Any person who cultivates the same attitudes in prayer follows the way Jesus prays, and will find peace and security in His life.  “May His will be done and His kingdom come.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved