Babbling

Based on Matthew 6:7-15

"Friends do not talk at each other; they talk to each other. This simple truth, confirmed by our own experience of friendship, lies at the heart of Christ's teaching on prayer. Talk to God, Jesus instructs his disciples when giving them the 'Our Father'. Talk to him, as to a friend, and not at him. In today's Gospel passage, Jesus warns his disciples against babbling their prayers like the pagans. Why do they babble, believing they will be heard because of their many words? Because they do not know their gods. They enjoy no real relationship with them. So the pagans speak at their gods. They babble, throwing their words up to the heavens hoping that some of them might find a receptive ear. Jesus is right. This is not prayer, but rather hopeless chatter. We sons and daughters of the Father do not babble in prayer, for we know to whom we pray. Christ has shown us the Father. We know his truth. We know his love. We know his power. Therefore, when at prayer, we speak to the Father as to a friend. The Our Father reveals what this conversation should look like - the union of two wills, one divine and the other human, in mutual desire. What wonder! In Christian faith and hope, the creature speaks to the Creator - in love." ~ Father Aquinas Guilbeau

Heavenly Father, perfect our faith, so that knowing you we may speak to you and with you in love. May the Lord's Prayer form our every prayer to you.

Magnificat - Feb. 23, 2010

I posted this because I sometimes find myself babbling without realizing it. I think we all get used to 'the way we pray', often repeating the same words to God...maybe at dinner, or in the evening before bed. This is great, as long as my heart is behind every word, but I find myself less focused on the fact that I am talking to the world's creator and that every word is with purpose, and that God is listening to each one of them. I may ask God to send his angels to watch over my household as we sleep every night, but am I focused on who I am talking to and focused on believing that my prayers will be heard; or are the words just coming out due to a habitual prayer? Praying the Lord's Prayer can have the same affect I guess...most of us learned the Lord's Prayer at an early age and so it can become babble if we don't meditate on what the words actually speak and focus on the fact that we're repeating a prayer that our Lord Jesus used to teach his disciples when teaching on prayer, the verbal communication to our God.

How simple, yet how much does that prayer contain! Glory & honor to God, recognition and belief in prophecy and fulfillment, a submission of ourselves to God's perfect will, asking for the bread of life daily, asking for forgiveness while reminding ourselves of how we should forgive others in all things, and asking him to help us in fighting temptation and evil. Wow...those are some things to grab on to in prayer!