5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Habits to Form:
- Pray Alone--we must remember to do our introspection (self-examination) before we are ready to come to God in prayer. This is the place of intimacy with God.
- Pray Persistently--not for our wants, but for the will of God and for the Spirit to fill us and guide us.
- Pray in the Presence of Others--not in the context of worship, but in the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in. As we pray with others, we share a part of our faith and our beliefs about God and in so doing, invite others to believe and have faith.
- Pray Simply--as in the prayer that Jesus taught:
Our Father: use whatever name is intimate and personal for you
Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name: we look up to offer praise and remembering who God is, we are led naturally to humility as we approach God.
Thy kingdom (realm) come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: we are not telling God what we want to accomplish but we are learning what God wants us to accomplish.
Give us this day our daily bread: remember that bread was a staple, an essential for Jesus. Ask for your essentials...not your wants...but the essentials of your faith and life, i.e. the capacity to love as God has loved us, understanding God's will, to be part of that will.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors: critical for our spiritual well being is to acknowledge our shortcomings, our sins. If we never verbalize that we have committed sins in thought, word, or deed, we can decieve ourselves into believing that we have not sinned. But "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: call your temptations by name and believe in God to strengthen you and to provide support to fight them.
Reflection Questions:
- Where is your "mountain" for being alone with God?
- How can you protect time for prayer in your daily routine?
- How can you cultivate ongoing opportunities to pray with others?
- What are some ways you can keep your prayer life simple?
- In prayer, how much are you listening?
Pastor Eva
3 comments:
Where is your "mountain" for being alone with God?
Being alone with God? What a concept! I have to "make" my mountain to be alone with God. My life has been far too busy to see any free time to sit about and chat with God on a regular basis. But I can and have chosen to change that! It is my prayer, with this becoming a regular practice during the lenten season, I will see, even more so, the necessity for "alone" time with God.
How can you protect time for prayer in your daily routine?
I am most reflective, I believe, in the mornings. Mornings are the beginning of a brand new day. I have to set time aside, get quiet, and inform all I need a "moment with God, alone". It will take a lot of practice!
How can you cultivate ongoing opportunities to pray with others?
I ASK! I ask, "Will you pray with me?", "Can we pray?", "Shall I say a blessing?" etc. Any time, any where! I have never been refused! That is God working!
What are some ways you can keep your prayer life simple?
Simpy pray. Every day. Thank God. Every day. Even when I feel I have nothing to be thankful for, saying "Thank You God." is enlightening.
In prayer, how much are you listening?
For me, listening is the most important part of prayer. "Be still..." "Open my ears that I may hear..." And just when I think I've heard all I need to hear, I hear more! Cool.
Where is my mountain?
I think my mountain is my car when I'm driving alone to or from work. I think I do my thanking then praying. I see the beautiful full moon or an amazing sunset and that's when I think of God the most and thank him for letting me see that. Sometimes I reflect on my day with my family or friends and think of ways I can either improve or just say that was a great day.
How do we protect time for prayer?
You have to make time everyday and keep it routine then it becomes a normal part of the day. like saying prayers at the dinner table.
How can you cultivate ongoing opportunities to pray with others?
We made saying prayer at the dinner table routine and do no matter who is around us or with us.
What ways can you keep prayer simple?
By praying when ever you get the moment. Like I do it in my car, it's simple for me. I grew up catholic and we prayed the same old two prayers over and over again. It wasn't until I was older that I found out you can just talk to God and it's praying. How simple is that?
How much listening do I do?
Not enough. I'm going to work on this. I think I always just watched or waited for prayers to be answered, I never thought about really listening, this is a good point.
It is interesting where we see our time alone with God. For me it is in silence. When I am not sharing the time with anything else that is vieing for attention like a book, or tv or radio. Often it is in the morning. Often it is when I am with nature, either seeing the birds coming and going at home, or walking in the woods, or working outside. But I am a serendipitous person when it comes to prayer. It always comes out of the moment and out of the circumstance. I also love to pray with my eyes wide open and my mouth shut.
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