Our Father in heaven

Gospel Lk 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,one of his disciples said to him,“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:Father, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come.Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says,‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’and he says in reply from within,‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’I tell you,if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship,he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives;and the one who seeks, finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked,know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more will the Father in heaven.

Bible Alive

Jesus' teaching on prayer is more radical, challenging and striking than we may realise, because it encourages a remarkable attitude or approach from the one who prays. It unreservedly encourages absolute and total confidence in God. We need to be confident that God hears our prayer and we need to have a very high degree of expectation, hope and trust in God's goodness and bounty.

The prayer Jesus taught us, which we know as the Our Father, is the blueprint, the Magna Carta, for all prayer. Despite being so compact, it captures the essence of what prayer and the spiritual life is: a relationship with the Father. St Augustine said of the Our Father, 'If you run through the petitions of all holy prayers, I believe you will find nothing that is not summed up and contained in the Lord's Prayer.' The amazing thing about the Our Father is that it contains the qualities God is looking for from us when we pray: confidence, faith and love.

The story Jesus tells after having given his disciples this unique prayer, sheds further light on the attitude of heart we should have in approaching God.

Jesus uses his story about a persistent neighbour who will not take no for an answer as a springboard to teach about the value of persistence in prayer, because God is not like the unwilling neighbour who gives only to put an end to the persistent knocking: God gives because he is generous, kind, benevolent and eager to bless.

This knowledge of God's character takes our breath away. If we understand who God truly is, we will no longer find it difficult to be bold, confident and expectant in prayer. Jesus wants his disciples to know his Father's character! If we are reluctant to ask, if we are hesitant and timid and have a low sense of expectation that God will hear our prayers, then we haven't understood Jesus' teaching on prayer.

'The Lord's prayer is the best of all prayers. All prayer requires five excellent qualities, which are found here. A prayer should be confident, ordered, suitable, devout and humble.' (St Thomas Aquinas)