Gospel Luke 11:1-13 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; 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. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Recently, I started feeling that I was bad at prayer. I was good at asking for help getting through the day, I was good at asking about His will, and I was good at talking to God about my life. But when it came to just talking to God in the good times, I was lost. I had this realization when my brother gave me a book called Prayer For Beginners*. I was slightly offended by the title at first- I've been a practicing Catholic my entire life! How am I a beginner? After thinking about it a while and talking with close friends, I realized I was, in fact, a beginner at prayer. I didn't know how to sit with God, just for the sake of growing in relationship with Him. I was bad at just listening to Him, and not asking for anything! No matter what our age, we can all be beginners at prayer. In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus breaks it down for us. Be persistent in prayer. I love the line that says "I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence." Jesus is persistently asking us to enter into relationship with Him. He is standing at the door, waiting for us to answer. In the middle of the night, He is pounding at our hearts, needing us to give Him ourselves. We can all take a step back and examine how we pray. First we just need to come to the Lord. "Be still and know that I Am God." (Psalm 46:10) Remember that we can ask God to help us pray! The disciples asked Jesus how to pray, and He told them. Sit in front of the Eucharist, read the Bible, journal, pray with others, do anything and dedicate that time to God. A lot of us are still beginners at prayer, but practice makes perfect! This week, take a look at different types of prayer and push yourself to enter into a deeper relationship with Christ through prayer. I can't just talk at God and expect my life to improve! I'm learning to sit with the Lord in praise, and not ask for anything. Just thank him and worship for a while! It's very freeing and I recommend it wholeheartedly. I have to work at hearing His voice. Its okay if we are still beginners at prayer: we'll never be perfect at it until we are in Heaven! - Emily Gignac St. Matthew's Director of Faith Formation * Buy Prayer For Beginners by Peter Kreeft on Amazon here
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