Let Us Pray

Let Us Pray – Today we continue moving through the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount with the very familiar passage in which Jesus teaches the people to pray and from which we have “The Lord’s Prayer.” Carol begins by citing a minister, Bishop Robert Spain, who heavily influenced her through her youth and mentored her in her own ministry. However, he once shocked her by saying from the pulpit that he did not have the prayer life he wished he had. Since then she has realized that most of us are beginners in learning to pray, and for us to examine what Jesus taught can be of help. When Jesus said not to pray in public, in essence it is to say that prayer is not a performance for those around us or for God – God loves us and hears our prayers without our having to attract God’s attention, and God knows our hearts. Saying “Thy will be done” can enlist us and shape how we act and live. Every pronoun in the prayer is plural, connecting us with others. “Give us this day our daily bread” can enlist us to help feed the hungry. There is much to learn from this passage about praying.