Lent is a time for prayer and fasting. A very common question around this time of year is ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ A far less common question is ‘How are you going to pray?’
Today’s Gospel is a reminder that Lent is a wonderful opportunity to renew our prayer life. In prayer, we express our desires before God. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus not only teaches us what we should desire, but also the order in which we should desire. God is our final end, so it is fitting that we should first seek His glory. We express our love by affectionately calling Him ‘Our Father’. We should also love ourselves in God, so we pray for the coming of His kingdom so that we can enjoy participating in His glory. Then we pray for the means by which we can share in His glory, that God’s will be done in us so that we might merit eternal life with Him. We also pray for the basic sustenance which enables His will to be done in us. Finally, we pray for the removal of all those obstacles which stop us attaining our end with God, such as our sinfulness, our false desires and our hardness of heart.
Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Matthew’s Gospel comes between his teaching on almsgiving and on fasting, a sure indication that all these activities are intimately related. So this Lent, whatever acts of almsgiving or fasting we undertake, let us do them prayerfully.
Today’s Gospel is a reminder that Lent is a wonderful opportunity to renew our prayer life. In prayer, we express our desires before God. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus not only teaches us what we should desire, but also the order in which we should desire. God is our final end, so it is fitting that we should first seek His glory. We express our love by affectionately calling Him ‘Our Father’. We should also love ourselves in God, so we pray for the coming of His kingdom so that we can enjoy participating in His glory. Then we pray for the means by which we can share in His glory, that God’s will be done in us so that we might merit eternal life with Him. We also pray for the basic sustenance which enables His will to be done in us. Finally, we pray for the removal of all those obstacles which stop us attaining our end with God, such as our sinfulness, our false desires and our hardness of heart.
Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Matthew’s Gospel comes between his teaching on almsgiving and on fasting, a sure indication that all these activities are intimately related. So this Lent, whatever acts of almsgiving or fasting we undertake, let us do them prayerfully.
What am I giving up for lent?
ReplyDeleteApart from really cheap Champagne not much only trying to avoid the first person singular a bit. Try it for a few minutes and see just how difficult it is.
I am giving up cake. We frequently have it around at work and I am a bit of pig, frequently sneaking 2 slices.
ReplyDeleteThis is causing me some withdrawal symptoms. And yes, it's pathetic to be enslaved by cake (for that is what it is).
Superb photograph and wonderful meditation - thank you! I'm trying to give up cyber time and do more reading.
ReplyDelete