The Way To Pray

Part of the challenging Sermon on the Mount, is The Lord's Prayer, a succinct, direct and simple example of what our prayer should be. Jesus cautions against babbling on or multiplying words, but rather focuses our attention on the two prongs of the Greatest Commandments:  Love of God and love of neighbor. We honor, acknowledge and submit ourselves as creatures to our Creator, and then we address our daily needs of bread, forgiveness and defense against the temptations that would lead us to harm.  We might not babble when we pray this prayer, but instead we rattle through it so fast that there is little connection to our brains and hearts.  It might be good during Lent to pray it phrase by phrase, slowly so that it can sink into our consciousness and take root.  Isaiah reminds us that God's word does not return to him void, but achieves the end for which it was uttered. (cf. Is 55:11), and St. John tells that if we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us and it is ours. (cf. 1 Jn 5:14).  Our prayers should not be empty words, but should come from the heart with confidence and trust.
Bro. Rene