Are you praying correctly and often?

WHEN WE PRAY
Luke 11:1–13

If we do not pray, life becomes a lonely pilgrimage.  We shut ourselves off from the help that is always within our reach.  God’s hand is stretched out to us, ready to lift us up, yet so often we refuse to take it.  Too easily, we put our trust in our own strength and resources.  And when we find that we are not the saints God calls us to be, it is not because His grace was lacking, but because we did not ask enough for the strength He is so eager to give us in prayer.  That is why Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”  Prayer, Jesus insists, accomplishes wonders.  It opens the floodgates of divine resources and answers our deepest needs.  It links earth to heaven and draws us close to the heart of God.

Prayer also gives voice to what words cannot express.  So much of what we feel and long for cannot be contained in language.  Words, useful as they are, have limits.  They are like vessels—but often our thoughts and feelings are far too vast to fit inside.  Lovers cannot fully express all that is in their hearts.  A new mother cannot put into words the joy and awe that fill her soul.  Our grief, too, often runs deeper than language, pouring out in tears or groans.  Our deepest longings, the ache of our hearts, cannot always be spoken.  But prayer can hold all of this—our words, our silence, our tears, our inmost desires—and lift them to God.

Prayer draws out the best in us.  We are at our truest and richest when we are in union with God.  When we pray, our little world expands.  We begin to see and feel more deeply for others.  In the Our Father, the perfect prayer, Jesus teaches us the importance of one small word: our. Our Father.  Our daily bread.  Our sins. How often our thoughts centre on I, me, my, mine!  We become so focused on our personal needs that we forget the wider family of God. True prayer pulls us out of ourselves.  It teaches us to think as a community, to develop compassion and responsibility.  We cannot be content to have our own needs met while so many of God’s children go hungry or carry heavy burdens of guilt.  Prayer moves us to action—to feed the hungry, to bring hope, to work for justice.

Some think of prayer as a retreat from life, an escape from reality.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Today’s Gospel begins: “Once Jesus was in a certain place praying.”  He often withdrew to pray, not to avoid life’s hardships, but to gain the strength to face them.  True prayer never removes us from life; it roots us in God so that we can fully engage with life.  It balances us.  For a strong life, we need both rest and work. The one who cannot rest in God will struggle to work with peace and purpose.  Jesus knew how to rest—in prayer. That was why He could work with such tireless love.  His life was anchored in the inexhaustible power of His Father.

That same power is offered to us today. Some of us may have discovered it already; others have yet to taste its richness.  That is why Jesus repeats His promise: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

Prayer is a discovery.  Through it, God enters our lives by a private door.  When we pray, God becomes real to us, and His power becomes our strength for the demands of each day.  Without prayer, our lives are smaller, poorer, weaker.

So let us ask for the gift of prayer.

Holy Spirit, do not let us leave this church today without this grace.  Unlock the doors of our hearts so that we may cry out with confidence: “Abba, Father!”  Once we do, there is no need to fear or worry, for our lives are safe in Your hands.  Amen.

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