Lent Reflection: First Tuesday of Lent

Today's Gospel contains the Our Father, one of the central prayers of the Christian faith.  But that's not what draws my attention, but rather the words Jesus use the introduce the Our Father: 1) Do not babble; speaking many words doesn't mean you will be heard; 2) Your Father knows what you need before you ask him; 3) This is how you are to pray.

Words /= prayer (that's a doesn't equals sign: Words doesn't equal prayer).  Jesus tell us that just because were moving our lips doesn't mean we're praying.  We may be saying prayers precisely and accurately, but prayer isn't just some exterior action.  Parrots can repeat words precisely and accurately but parrots don't pray.  This parrot says "Thank you, Lord" and other short prayers, but is this parrot praying?  I don't think so.  And our prayer?  If you're like me, you often drift off while in prayer, moving your lips or reading the words with your mind wondering, thinking about anything and everything but what the prayer is calling you to do -- to praise God, thank God, ask God, seek forgiveness from God, be with God, etc.  Prayer is not just an exterior thing but requires an interior movement.

Yet, Our Father knows what we need before we ask.  Some people might say, "Well, why do we pray then?  God knows, so I'm good."  I think this errs in the opposite direction, where we don't even try to pray but say that God has it under control so it's all good.  Yes, God does know what we need before we ask, but then again so does a doctor before we go to the doctor's office or the emergency room.  We just want to be healthy!  Or a mother before a child asks for some food.  We just want to be fed!  And a significant other before a kiss.  We really do love you!  The doctor knows before, the mother knows before, and the significant other knows before, but we still follow through with the action and with the asking.  We must set the doctor's appointment to start the movement towards health; we must ask mom for food when we're a kid to receive sustenance; we must show affection to say I love you; and we must present ourselves and our needs to God in prayer to receive blessings.  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7: 7-8).

So our prayer needs an interior element and we do indeed need to pray, so how to we do that?  Jesus teaches us how.  Jesus doesn't say, these are the words you say when you pray, but gives a how-to.  The inside (our hearts) should match the outside (our words).  When we say "Our Father who art in heaven" we proclaim the reality that God is not my father, but our father; we are united together in a common humanity.  We also proclaim that we are adopted sons and daughters of God and the existence of heaven, which isn't a place where we polish our halos and tune our harps, but heaven is a place of eternal joy and communion with God.  All the while, when we pray these words on the outside, our hearts should be lifted up to the Lord, they should raise up to Our Father, who art in heaven.  Our focus and concentration should be not on the job we have to do when we're done praying or the grocery list or the Winter Olympics, but on Our Father, who art in heaven.

When Jesus teaches us how to pray, he doesn't just teach us what to say but teaches us that prayer involves our entire selves, mind, body, heart, and soul ascending to God not only in a mystical way but in a practical way.
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Reflection Questions:
How do I pray?  Do I focus too much on the words?
Am I afraid of silent prayer?  Am I afraid of prayer with others?
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Jars of Clay: Unforgetful You
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Blessings,
Isaac