~~~ Isaiah 55:10-11 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:7-15 ~~~
In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard
because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
We are not babies...We are not pagans...
We can speak; there is no need for us to babble.
Babble means to talk foolishly, too fast,
in an incomprehensible way.
Jesus teaches us what it means to pray
in today's Gospel reading from Matthew.
God is not hard of hearing,
we do not need to talk louder and louder.
We do not need to give God an endless litany
of our needs when we pray.
Your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.
Jesus teaches us to pray...
the Our Father.
To really pray the Our Father we must
have some level of comprehension.
The words of the Our Father are not meaningless words...
they are not a mere string of foolish words.
The Our Father may be the perfect prayer.
The words of the Our Father are perfect because
they were given to us from Jesus.
These words are not to be taken lightly.
These words hold the potential to greatly impact our life.
It is fitting that in the first week of Lent
we are given the Lord's Prayer.
This prayer is capable of changing us...
This prayer is capable of cleansing our heart...
This prayer is capable of replacing our
heart of stone with a new heart...
This prayer is capable of creating within our soul
an attitude of humility and gratitude.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Let this familiar prayer
fall afresh upon your heart during this Lent.
If you desire to have a fruitful forty days
let this prayer transform you to be more like its author.
May you be Blessed with the best Lent ever...
with a changed heart.
~~~Peace~~~
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