Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”
-Luke 11:1-4
It is interesting to think of Jesus praying. I mean He is God, who did He pray to? Did He ask the Holy Spirit to help Him pray to the Father? Did he get distracted when He prayed? Did He "pray the distractions?" Did He start every prayer with the Our Father or did He say the Psalms? Did He have ecstasies or mystical visions? Did he speak in tongues or prophesy?
In St. Luke's Gospel, he mentions Jesus praying a lot. Why did St. Luke feel the need to mention this so often? When Our Lord did pray was He the Publican in the front or the repentant sinner in the back? Or was He somewhere in the middle?
How did He who knew the hearts of all calm Bis own Sacred Heart to hear the whisper of His own Father, His own Daddy? We know Jesus prays for us to His Father, in St. Luke's Gospel before his agony in the garden he tells Simon Peter:
"Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turn back, you must strengthen your brothers."- Luke 22:31-32
Jesus prayed for St. Peter... I don't think I have ever asked Jesus to pray for me, but I have longed to hear, "Louis, Louis, behold Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat."
I know Satan doesn't want me to know God or to follow Him or to pray or to love God or to know God's Love for me, that isn't something new. "But Louis I have prayed for you that your own faith won't fail; and once you turn back, you must strengthen you brothers." Jesus doesn't pray for our strength not to give out or our perseverance to fail but for our faith not fail. That we may NEVER lose our faith in the Father.
He wants us to trust that God can do anything in our lives no matter how horrible the situation is. "Louis I pray for you that never stop trusting Dad. He's going to take care of you always just stay faithful."
Jesus wants us to not lose our faith not only for us but to strengthen or brothers and sisters.
This brings a new dimension to confession. It is obviously a sacrament between us and God but also we should strengthen others to go back to God who have turned their backs on Him.
The Christian Life has never been about me, myself and I; but about God, others, and me (or is it I? I have never been good with grammar). This has been a constant challenge for me the last couple of months. How have I been giving of myself to others the way Jesus wants me to? If I say I have been trying keeping my faith then have I been using it to strengthen my brothers and sisters in Christ? Or have I really just kept the faith to myself? Maybe I should ask Jesus to pray for me to so that He can help me keep my faith to strengthen my brothers and sisters...
Lord, pray that I may keep faith so that I may share it with others!
Pray well!
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