The disciples in today’s Gospel are asking Jesus to teach them to pray – it is comforting to know that they too struggled with prayer. Jesus teaches them the Our Father, a manifesto for the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. While dealing with Kingdom issues, this prayer also addresses the spiritual and physical concerns of those who pray it. In itself, it is a model for prayers of any kind. Luke also includes a parable about the Father’s care for his children. When a child asks a parent for something, do they say yes every time? Is it because they don’t love their children that they say no? Of course not! Yet Jesus says that everyone who asks receives. Luke places a special emphasis on the prayer life of Jesus in his Gospel, frequently mentioning that he was “in a certain place, praying”. There is also a special emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ message to the disciples is that if they ask for the Spirit to help them, they will not be refused.
I recently saw a caption on Facebook which read: “God’s three answers to your prayers: 1. Yes. 2. Not yet! 3. I have something better in mind.” God knows our deepest desires and he knows what is best for each of us. While we are trying to figure out what that might be it would be useful to use the disciple’s prayer from the Gospel today: “Lord, teach us to pray.”
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