The Lord's Prayer
How do you pray?
‘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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' - Matthew 6:7-15
The Lord's Prayer is one of the first prayers I learned and it has been a staple in my prayer life.
There are other prayers we say in church on Sunday that I know by heart, but this is the one I turn to when I need to start a conversation with God.
Some people do an amazing job praying aloud in a group, but I was never comfortable with that. For me, prayer is a silent, mental state I enter into.
I remember during my diaconal training, while I was performing pastoral visits in the hospital. That was the first time I really had to get out of my comfort zone as far as communal prayer goes.
Sure, it was just one-on-one, but because the person I was visiting was in such need of prayer, I felt I couldn't resort to the old standby. I had to reach down and make the conversation we were having with God personal, unscripted.
We all need to know God is listening to us, and I have found it can be easier to feel that He is when we pray aloud with others.
Yes, it can be uncomfortable at first. We may feel foolish or insecure, but we are all in need of a conversation with God, whether we realize it or not. And someone has to start.
So, when we pray, we can start or end with the prayer Jesus taught us, but we should also add some words of our own. Words from the heart rather than the ones we learned by heart.
It can be very refreshing.
More to come...