LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 11:1-13

Luke gives the context for the teaching of Our Father. The disciples had seen John’s followers recite prayers taught by their master. And they wanted the same from Jesus. So they approached Him with a request: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. Luke’s version is shorter than Matthew’s. However, the requests are the same. Mathew expanded on some of the requests found in Luke to have a total of seven. We begin with a profession of faith, addressing God as Father and recognising that we are his children, not by right but by adoption. In Jesus Christ, the Son, we become sons and daughters of the merciful and loving God.

Then, we make our petitions to God. On a first impression, the first two are concerned with God: “Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.” However, in reality, they speak of us, praying that God’s name may be hallowed in us. May we be holy, as He is holy. May the glory of God be manifest in us. And then we ask for God’s kingdom to come, so that we may have peace, justice and freedom, that is happiness. For that to happen, we must be ready to do God’s will. The fulfilment of the following requests makes life in the community - that is, in God’s family - possible. We need our daily sustenance, getting the bread that keeps us alive and the bread of life that, uniting us to Jesus, is a guarantee of life eternal in God’s Kingdom. Recognising our sinfulness, we ask for forgiveness and show readiness to forgive. Finally, aware of our shortcomings and weaknesses, we ask that God strengthen us in temptation, so that we stand firm against the evil one.

With trust and confidence, we may approach the Father and ask for what is truly important. We may not be selfish in our petitions. However, God never refuses to give us his greatest gift, the Holy Spirit.

With Abraham, we learn the prayer of intercession, pleading with God to be merciful. May the Lord not punish us according to our sins, but, on account of His mercy and love, forgive us and strengthen us with His Spirit.