Matthew 6:7-15

Isaiah 55:10-11

Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19

Matthew 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,

who think that they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

“If you forgive men their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men,

neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, I do not know how to pray as I ought. Guide my prayer today. Help me to praise you and thank you. Help me to ask for good things and to seek forgiveness for my sins.

Encountering the Word of God

1. God’s Word Does Not Fail: Isaiah teaches us that God’s Word accomplishes God’s will without fail. When we read this passage in the light of Jesus Christ, we know that Jesus is the Word sent out by the Father to humanity. Jesus tells his disciples that his food is to do the will of the Father. He always does what is pleasing to the Father. In the Garden, Jesus offers to do the will of the Father (Matthew 26:29). The will of the Father was that his Son, Jesus Christ, die in such a way as to obtain the definitive and complete victory over death itself. Jesus obeys the Father’s will and conquers death by dying and offering himself as an innocent sacrifice in love.

2. The Three “Thy Petitions” of the Lord’s Prayer: One of the most important things Jesus does to accomplish the Father’s will is to teach us how to pray. The prayer he taught us, in Matthew’s Gospel, has seven petitions. The first petition, “Hallowed be thy name,” asks that God’s holy name be recognized and treated as holy. It asks that God’s plan of salvation be realized and that the holiness of God be made known to all the nations. God’s name is “hallowed” when his people are delivered from evil and saved. The second petition asks that God’s Kingdom be established. We are asking that God reign in our hearts and in the world. As the Kingdom expands throughout the world and history, we look forward to and ask for the definitive establishment of the Kingdom at the end of time – when evil will be vanquished, sin will be eradicated, and death will be no more. The third petition, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” asks that God’s will be accomplished here on earth. What God wills for us is our holiness – that we partake of and attain his eternal and divine life.

3. The Four “Us Petitions” of the Lord’s Prayer: While the first three petitions are “thy petitions” and refer to the hallowing of God’s name, the establishment of God’s Kingdom, and the accomplishment of God’s will, the next four petitions are “us petitions” and ask God to give us bread, to forgive us, to spare us, and to deliver us. The fourth petition of the Lord’s prayer asks that God providentially care for us this day and provide us with the supernatural bread of the Eucharist. Just as God fed his people every day in the desert with manna, so we ask that today God feed us with New Manna, the Body and Blood of his Son. The fifth petition asks for the forgiveness of our sins. By sinning, we accrue debt. By doing righteous deeds, we store up heavenly treasure. Our debt incurred by sinful deeds needs to be forgiven and, through the righteousness of Jesus, this is possible. The sixth petition, “lead us not into temptation,” recognizes that tribulation mysteriously precedes the great day of salvation. The petition is a prayer for divine mercy and is a plea that God spare us the sufferings of the great trial and tribulation that precede the coming of the Kingdom of God. The seventh petition asks that we be protected and delivered from evil and the evil one. Satan has been cast out of heaven and now only seeks to thwart the divine plan by bringing as many people as possible to reject God and become his slaves. In our prayer, we acknowledge that we do not want to be slaves of sin or the devil. What we truly want is to enjoy the freedom of the children of God!

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you gave us the supreme model of prayer. You taught us to call God our Father. You truly sanctified your Father’s name. You established your Father’s Kingdom. Your Father’s will was your food. As an obedient Son, you resisted temptation and conquered the evil one.

Resolution: We can be tempted to reduce our prayer to petitions for material things or to be relieved from suffering. We need to pray as Jesus taught us. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to ask for greater things – that God be known by all people, that his Kingdom be definitively established, that human beings attain eternal life, that every person has what they need for daily life and eternal life, that our sins be forgiven, that we receive divine mercy, and that God protected us from the evil one and his works.