Wednesday, October 10, 2018

“TEACH US TO PRAY”

Reflection for 27th Week in Ordinary Time
(Gal 2:1-2, 7-14; Lk 11:1-4)

What a request! Seeing Jesus pray, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray...” We need no other lesson on the importance of prayer. The example set by Jesus is enough. We cannot graduate from the school of prayer. So, the request of the disciple in today's gospel should be the constant yearning of our hearts. Prayer opens new horizons of divine encounter, such that each step in prayer is as good as the first one.

“When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come...’” Thus Jesus taught us to extol God and seek His will in prayer. And this should come first before any human need. Herein lies the sweetness and strength of prayer. Once our prayer seeks God's glory first, every other thing bows accordingly...

But if our prayer is centred around human problems, it easily becomes problematic i.e. our prayer may begin to be heavy and less serene. Result-orientated prayer can be frustrating! Even when the problems are solve, one may begin to forget to pray or may then pray with less enthusiasm. For us to pray constantly and remain consistent in our prayer life, we must learn prayer as taught by Jesus.

The coming of God's kingdom dispels every evil and assures of our daily bread. Let us learn to grow in prayer that the Kingdom of God may continue to increase in us.

Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Holy Family Catholic Church
Festac Town,  Lagos.
Wednesday October 10, 2018.

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