Aloha nui to all on this Thursday of the 11th week of ordinary time!
Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Probably one of the oldest forms of communication in the world.
To pray is to have a conversation with God. It is to communicate with God. It is to have a relationship with God.
It is a human need to pray.
We pray for ourselves, we pray for others, we pray to our God and Lord.
Some of Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray because Jesus was, of course, the Teacher. So, they figured he was the one who knew how to pray. He was the model of how to pray to God. And, Jesus taught them how to pray. He taught them how he prayed to his Father in heaven. As a son or daughter of our Father in heaven, we are to pray in honor of God, following His will, not ours, and depending on Him to feed us and forgive us and protect us from temptation as we are to do the same.
Scripture:
“The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his justice, and all peoples see his glory. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!” (Psalm 97)
“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” (Matthew 6)
A Personal Reflection by Fr. Brian:
Prayer is a very personal thing! It is sharing with God my deepest thoughts and emotions. And, that can be tough! Sometimes I pray whenever, spontaneously. It just comes over me that I need to pray because something has touched or affected me that I need to share with someone, and that someone is God, because some times, I don’t have anyone to share with. This is why prayer is so important! It allows me to empty myself to God and get things off my chest.
There are many ways to pray, but, prayer is not supposed to be so organized. Though, at times, when I need to pray, I need something to kick me in the pants to pray, to remind me to pray, such as the rosary or participating in Mass.
For me, prayer is a fundamental part of human nature. It is our deepest yearning. And it is free!
Blessings, pono and pule!
Fr. Brian Guerrini, ss.cc.
Priest
Molokai