THIS is the most beautiful prayer that we have, because it was taught to us by Jesus himself. I myself say this prayer in my own native language, Dutch, Onze Vader, every morning when I walk through our subdivision, because I feel most closely connected to the Father through my native language.
The Gospel of Luke 11: 1-4 says that one day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, may your name be held holy, may your kingdom come; give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we forgive also all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”
The apostles already knew how to pray and they prayed in common, as all the Jews did, in the synagogue and at key times during the day. Yet, in living close to Jesus they discovered a new way to live in close fellowship and they felt a need to address the Father differently. Jesus waited for them to ask him to teach them how to pray. See Matthew 6:9.
Jesus urges us to ask with perseverance without ever getting tired of asking but, rather, “tiring” God. God will not always give us what we ask for, nor in the way we ask, since we do not know what is good for us. He will give us a holy spirit, or a clearer vision of his will and, at the same time, the courage to follow it.
Knock and it will be opened to you (v. 9). Prayer is the groaning of the Holy Spirit in us as Saint Paul says. Yet, we need repetition for this groaning to open a path in our stony heart, just as the drop of water washes away the hardest rocks. When we have repeated the Our Father and the Hail Mary with perseverance, one day we can pray them
in a way that is in perfect harmony with God’s will. Jesus himself was
waiting for this groaning, the only one which can move him since, in
fact, it comes from his own heart.
As long as we have not prayed this way, or rather, drawn it from
within, God cannot be conquered. It is not that God defends himself
since He is pure tenderness and fluidity, but as long as there is
nothing similar in us, the current cannot pass between Him and us. Man
gets tired of praying, yet if he perseveres instead of losing heart,
he will gradually let go of his pride until being exhausted and
overcome, he obtains much more than he could have wished for.
Jesus invites us to ask with perseverance, persevering petitions cease
being self-centered and become prayer, that is, they lift us up and
bring us closer to God.
What about asking the saints? We must admit that, very often, the
person who begs from the saints takes a road opposed to real prayer.
Such a person is not interested in discovering God’s mercy, but in
obtaining some favor. He does not care whom he addresses as long as he
finds an efficient and automatic dispenser of benefits. So begins the
search for saints, shrines and devotions.
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