Model Prayer

Pater Noster Chapel, Jerusalem, with multiple translations of the Lord’s Prayer on chapel walls, Author Magrietha Knight (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

My prayer life is no model for anyone.  Prayer can bring me to tears.  But I sometimes abandon it altogether, overwhelmed by the emotion it can evoke.  Other times, I avoid prayer out of a feeling of abject unworthiness.

Snippets

During the day, I pray most often in short snippets:  “Jesus, bless those boys over there with the basketball.  Keep them from harm.”  “Would You help me find my glasses, Lord?  I’ve managed to lose them again.”  “Draw their hearts back to You, Lord.  I beg You.”  “Father, forgive my impatience, my anger.  Will I never learn?”  “Oh, my God!?  Please, protect the Syrian refugees, and civilians being bombed.  Please, please, watch over our troops.”  “Tell me what to do, Lord!”

I do not know what the Lord makes of these pleas.  However, if I delay in addressing Him, I fall immediately prey to perfectionism.  That only serves as an obstacle, interfering with prayer.

Confession

Growing up in the Catholic faith, I could confess my deficiencies to a priest, and be absolved of them.  God, of course, knew them already.

But an examination of conscience is as necessary as weeding.  It roots out the thoughts and behaviors competing with God for our time and attention, the thoughts and behaviors gradually drawing us away from God.

Brokenness

I pray when the world has taken its toll, and I am broken.  I pray when old, familiar demons plague me – anxiety, depression, migraines to name a few.

Night Watches

Most of my profound communication with God takes place during the stillness of the night watches.  It helps that I have insomnia (LOL).

I pray for friends and loved ones, and for those who write to me.  World events frequently move me to pray about people or issues.  And inspiration, for which I have no way to account, at times flows through my pen (these days, my computer). 

The Lord’s Prayer

But the Lord, Himself, gave us a model prayer as our guide:

“Now it came to pass, as He [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John [the Baptist] also taught his disciples.’

So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:  Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one’ “ (Luke 1: 1-4).

There is no magic attached to this prayer.  We need not repeat it verbatim or a specific number of times for the prayer to be effective.

” ‘And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him‘ “ (Matt. 6: 7-8).

Our Value in God’s Eyes

What the Lord’s Prayer shows us is that we have a familial relationship to God, and that He is concerned for both our physical and spiritual well-being.

Unworthiness does not come into play.  We are all unworthy before an infinitely holy God.  But we are not worthless in His eyes.

Just the opposite is true.  God views us as having infinite value.  He gave His Son for our sakes:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5: 21).

Because of that, we may approach the throne at will, unworthy and ineloquent as we are.

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse http://www.avoicereclaimed.com