In today’s Gospel from Luke 11:1-13, as Jesus was finished praying, “one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…'”  Jesus continues by teaching the disciples the form of prayer we now commonly refer to as the “Our Father”.  Not only is this a prayer in and of itself but perhaps more importantly, it is a way to pray.  In the more common form we are use to praying in Mass we begin, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We begin by praising God first and reminding ourselves that everything that follows must be in balance with what we are exclaiming here.  Any intercession or petition must be in line with God’s holiness.  They must contribute to the building of God’s Kingdom and must also be prayed with humility and a discernment between God’s will and that of our own.  Through our focus and discernment on this first part of this prayer, we will come to a better understanding of what is good for us and what we truly need.  Oftentimes when we pray the “Our Father” we recite these words rather quickly, however, when we are alone in prayer, we can take the time to discern how our requests fit within these very important words Jesus Himself taught us.

  As we go forth this week, let us make this prayer a part of our daily prayer.  Not only in praying the “Our Father” but as a way to discern that our prayers are truly what God would want for us and for those who we may be praying for.