Tuesday, February 12, 2008
From AscensionNYC
Tuesday in the First Week of Lent
by Ned Fitch
Psalm 34:15-22
Isaiah 55:6-11
Matthew 6:7-15
It is a pretty accurate assumption that all Christians pray. Whether in a daily manner or when faced with crisis or issue, at some point we turn to God and Jesus with praise and petitions. (I would guess that the latter usually is the focus of most prayers.)
But in reading today's Gospel lesson, we learn that God does not want prayers that are repetitive, rote, or vain in nature. Why? What is wrong with spending our time in prayer, asking for that which most troubles or frightens us, or asking for the things we feel we need? And why does Jesus step in to tell us how we should pray?
While it is human nature to ask for those things we believe we need or to ask for God's grace for situations we cannot control, doing so suggests that God is impersonal and can be manipulated. In reality, God already knows our needs and desires. There is no merit in begging; God gives us what we ask for. And when we don't receive exactly what we ask for, it is because God knows we do not need it or it is not for our good or according to his will. Additionally, to pray repetitively for that which we feel we need suggests that we believe God may not always hear us, and we must therefore ask again and again. While it may make us feel better to beg for things or be repetitive in our prayers, Jesus tells us that it is unnecessary.
Jesus gives specific direction on how we should pray. In giving us the Lord's Prayer, Jesus did not tell us to "pray these words" but to "pray this way/along these lines." The suggestion is to help us formulate appropriate prayers to God. The greatest mistake we can make is to replace our "vain repetitions" by praying the Lord's Prayer in a memorized and rote manner. While is can be considered the ultimate prayer, and one we can, and should, use each time we pray, it is not to be used as an impersonal, repetitive act that will hopefully persuade God to forgive us or give us what we want.
The Lord's Prayer encompasses all we need to say to God. We honor God as our loving parent. This allows us to have a close, personal relationship with God as an obedient child. We also honor God as our ruler and our faithful provider. We are servants, dependent upon God to give us what we need. We ask for forgiveness, the ability and desire to forgive, and for spiritual protection against earthly temptations. And finally, we praise God as the ultimate source of power and glory over the world.
When praying the Lord's Prayer, it can easily become yet another repetitive act of prayer. We must resist this temptation and with open hearts and minds (and ears and voices), pray as Jesus asked us to pray, honoring God, asking for what we truly need, and praising God's power and glory.
Psalm 34:15-22
Isaiah 55:6-11
Matthew 6:7-15
It is a pretty accurate assumption that all Christians pray. Whether in a daily manner or when faced with crisis or issue, at some point we turn to God and Jesus with praise and petitions. (I would guess that the latter usually is the focus of most prayers.)
But in reading today's Gospel lesson, we learn that God does not want prayers that are repetitive, rote, or vain in nature. Why? What is wrong with spending our time in prayer, asking for that which most troubles or frightens us, or asking for the things we feel we need? And why does Jesus step in to tell us how we should pray?
While it is human nature to ask for those things we believe we need or to ask for God's grace for situations we cannot control, doing so suggests that God is impersonal and can be manipulated. In reality, God already knows our needs and desires. There is no merit in begging; God gives us what we ask for. And when we don't receive exactly what we ask for, it is because God knows we do not need it or it is not for our good or according to his will. Additionally, to pray repetitively for that which we feel we need suggests that we believe God may not always hear us, and we must therefore ask again and again. While it may make us feel better to beg for things or be repetitive in our prayers, Jesus tells us that it is unnecessary.
Jesus gives specific direction on how we should pray. In giving us the Lord's Prayer, Jesus did not tell us to "pray these words" but to "pray this way/along these lines." The suggestion is to help us formulate appropriate prayers to God. The greatest mistake we can make is to replace our "vain repetitions" by praying the Lord's Prayer in a memorized and rote manner. While is can be considered the ultimate prayer, and one we can, and should, use each time we pray, it is not to be used as an impersonal, repetitive act that will hopefully persuade God to forgive us or give us what we want.
The Lord's Prayer encompasses all we need to say to God. We honor God as our loving parent. This allows us to have a close, personal relationship with God as an obedient child. We also honor God as our ruler and our faithful provider. We are servants, dependent upon God to give us what we need. We ask for forgiveness, the ability and desire to forgive, and for spiritual protection against earthly temptations. And finally, we praise God as the ultimate source of power and glory over the world.
When praying the Lord's Prayer, it can easily become yet another repetitive act of prayer. We must resist this temptation and with open hearts and minds (and ears and voices), pray as Jesus asked us to pray, honoring God, asking for what we truly need, and praising God's power and glory.
