Lk. 11:1-13
“When your eyes are open to God’s presence in your life, you will always feel His love.”
“There is no brightness without the light, and there is no life, without God’s presence.”(Dr. Mona)
Are you able to experience the presence of the Lord in your moments of prayer? Is there a space for dialogue between God and you in your moments of prayer? Is it merely a pouring out of your needs before the Lord? I believe our moments of prayer should include both listening and pouring out our hearts before the Lord. In today’s gospel, we see the disciples approaching Jesus with the intention of learning the mode of prayer from him. They might have observed Jesus’ deep intimacy with his Abba Father in his moments of prayer. It was not an external show like other religious leaders. It was a real God encounter, which was reflected in his words and deeds.
At this juncture He teaches them the prayer ‘Our Father’ commonly known as the Lord’s prayer. Judaism was known for its moments of prayer and worship. They constantly remembered the Lord, even 5 times a day through singing and praising God’s glory through psalms. In this background Jesus teaches them a simple but profound and deep prayer. The prayer starting with addressing God as ‘Our Father…’ It is an invitation to enter into a personal intimacy with Abba just like Jesus. This made whole lot of difference between Jesus’ moments of prayer and other existing moments of prayer. Jesus bought down the transcendent God into a immanent level who is close to us, who listens, provides and sustains us… The remaining part of the prayer acknowledges his might and glory to His name, plea for the coming of His kingdom and the reign of His will; thus, acknowledging his primacy and leadership over everything.
The second part includes the believer’s heartfelt plea for his sustenance. Beginning with a plea for the daily bread, which is not merely physical food but rather Jesus himself, who is our daily manna, who gives us spiritual strength in our journey to his eternal kingdom. Then seek his mercy and forgiveness for our failures, in the same way, the grace to forgive the failures of others and his grace in our moments of trial and temptation.
In the second part of the gospel, we see Jesus affirming the paternal love and care of God in our lives by exhorting us to ask, knock, and seek him with childlike confidence and trust. Children depend on their parents for everything. To meet certain needs, they usually keep requesting their parents, pleading with them, and sometimes crying nonstop until they get it done. Jesus tells us to have the same freedom with our Abba. We see this typical example of this child-like confidence in Abraham, who pleaded with God to defend Sodom and Gomorrah. Even when he was aware of his littleness before God, he was also aware of the depth of his mercy and boundless love. The Lord, listening to the intercession of Abraham on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, saves them from the plight of destruction. This is the power of prayer, a powerful tool that is given to us to enter into a personal intimacy with our Abba and to share the love that we experience from Abba with others. As we continue our faith journey, let us imitate the prayer life of Jesus. Let us continue to ask, seek, and knock at the door of Abba without getting discouraged and experience his presence in the ordinary life situations of our lives.