Thoughts to Ponder from Matthew 6:7-15

Matthew 6:7-15 (ESV)

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

“Our Father…” (Matthew 6:9).

Although it is only a few lines long, the Lord’s Prayer is so rich that it gives us our entire faith in a nutshell. So let’s listen to St. Augustine as he explains what is behind each part of this prayer.

“When we pray, hallowed be your name, we are reminding ourselves to desire that his name, which in fact is always holy, should also be considered holy among men. I mean that it should not be held in contempt.

“And as for our saying, your kingdom come, it will surely come whether we will it or not. But we are stirring up our desires for the kingdom so that it can come to us and we can deserve to reign there.

“When we say, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking him to make us obedient so that his will may be done in us as it is done in heaven by his angels.

“When we say, give us this day our daily bread, we mean ‘in this world.’ Here we ask for a sufficiency by specifying the most important part of it; that is, we use the word “bread” to stand for everything.

“When we say, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, we are reminding ourselves of what we must ask and what we must do in order to be worthy in turn to receive.

“When we say, lead us not into temptation, we are reminding ourselves to ask that his help may not depart from us. Otherwise we could be seduced and consent to some temptation or despair and yield to it.

“When we say, deliver us from evil, we are reminding ourselves to reflect on the fact that we do not yet enjoy the state of blessedness in which we will no longer suffer evil…In this petition the Christian can utter his cries of sorrow, in it he can shed his tears, and through it he can begin, continue, and conclude his prayer, whatever the distress in which he finds himself” (Letter to Proba).

Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me how to pray. Help me to always pray from the heart and to trust in your goodness as a child trusts in his father. Amen.

From The Word Among Us, June 18th, 2009.