Thursday, September 26, 2024

Gospel Reflection: Prayer

The Rev. Rob Stevens

Luke 11:1–4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, 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 indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Pray…

What are your favorite prayers? Do you have “go-to’s? I believe we tend to

over-think prayer. Not always, but sometimes. I hear the voice in my head… “am I doing it right?” Anne Lamott, author and theologian, jolted me out of that when she wrote that one of her best prayers is one that begins in the morning with “Whatever!” and ends in at bedtime with “Oh Well…” That might not seem like much of a prayer to you, but it is that openness to possibility and the acceptance of limits that speaks to me. Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated.

I think about the Haiku’s that Aaron invited us to write…prayers. The deep breath before a hard phone call…prayer. Simply being in the presence of someone who needs you to be there…prayer. The Lord’s Prayer recited at 8am in St. John’s Church…yes, prayer.

Jesus’ friends wanted to learn to pray…to connect with God. That is the point, I think. How might we continue to share our ways of connecting with God through prayer with each other?