Among the many Lenten activities, I hope you are setting aside time for daily reflection, prayer, and meditation. Some people find those things daunting, but they need not be. Much of these three things can be done simultaneously. A year ago, my Pastor recommended that I take some time to say the Lord’s prayer “slowly”! Therefore, I want you to “present yourself to the Lord”…sit quietly and give thanks and praise to God for His love, mercy, and grace. Then say the Lord’s prayer…slowly, with thoughtfulness and attention to the words:
“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 (trespasses),
as we also have forgiven our debtors (trespassers).
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Praying with all of our being –
heart, mind, soul, and spirit is something we exercise, not just do. Many a person gives up to easily, when all
that is necessary is to stop for a minute or two – several times a day – and
simply say, “Father”, “Thank You Lord”, “Have Mercy upon me”, “Lord, help me”,
etc…
In the third century, one of the early
Christian theologians and Church Fathers was a black African named Saint
Cyprian. He wasn’t born a Christian, but converted to Christianity around 246
a.d,., and within two years was elected bishop of Carthage. He was noted as a writer, thinker, and
spiritual leader. Here’s a short treatise
on prayer that he wrote.
From a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer
“He has given us life; he has also taught us how to pray”
Dear
brothers, the commands of the Gospel are nothing else than God’s lessons, the
foundations on which to build up hope, the support for strengthening faith, and
the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the
right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure. As they instruct
the receptive minds of believers on earth, they lead safely to the kingdom of
heaven.
God willed
that many things should be said by the prophets, and his servants, and listened
to by his people. How much greater are the things spoken by the Son. These are
now witnessed to by the very Word of God who spoke through the prophets. The
Word of God does not now command us to prepare the way for his coming: he comes
in person and opens up the way for us and directs us toward it. Before, we
wandered in the darkness of death, aimlessly and blindly. Now we are
enlightened by the light of grace and are to keep to the highway of life, with
the Lord to precede and direct us.
The Lord has
given us many counsels and commandments to help us toward salvation. He has
even given us a pattern of prayer, instructing us on how we are to pray. He has
given us life, and with his accustomed generosity, he has also taught us how to
pray. He has made it easy for us to be heard as we pray to the Father in the
words taught us by the Son.
He had
already foretold that the hour was coming when true worshipers would worship
the Father in spirit and in truth. He fulfilled what he had promised before, so
that we who have received the spirit and the truth through the holiness he has
given us may worship in truth and in the spirit through the prayer he has
taught.
What prayer
could be more a prayer in the spirit than the one given us by Christ, by whom
the Holy Spirit was sent upon us? What prayer could be more a prayer in the
truth than the one spoken by the lips of the Son, who is truth himself? It
follows that to pray in any other way than the Son has taught us is not only
the result of ignorance but of sin. He himself has commanded it and has
said: You reject the command of God, to set up your own tradition.
So, my
brothers, let us pray as God our master has taught us. To ask the Father in
words his Son has given us, to let him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in his
ears, is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer. Let the Father
recognize the words of his Son. Let the Son who lives in our hearts be also on
our lips. We have him as an advocate for sinners before the Father; when we ask
forgiveness for our sins, let us use the words given by our advocate. He tells
us: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. What
more effective prayer could we then make in the name of Christ than in the
words of his own prayer?
Peace
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