Teach Us to Pray

The pastor at the church I attended this morning preached about prayer. He focused on the passage from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus lays out for his disciples a model for prayer. It's what we know as the Lord's Prayer.
I've been thinking all day about my own prayer life. Prayer is that amazing thing that somehow puts me in touch with God in a way that I can't begin to understand. There is a mystical communion that takes place when I pray. I am able to let it all hang out. While God knows all my needs and wants before I even ask, God still listens to my prayer. God knows my darkest secrets, my foulest sins, my inward desires, and my greatest fears. When I come to God in prayer all that stuff is present. Yet, prayer allows me to come into the presence of the Holy One Who is ready to forgive and heal.
I wish prayer came more naturally to me than it does. I have at times been very regimented in my prayer life. I would say certain specific prayers and spend long periods in silence on my knees. I would make sure to cover all of the bases and lift up a laundry list of concerns to God. However, now, prayer is different for me. My morning walks are a time of prayer for me. Hearing a special song is prayer time for me. Sitting in silence and trying to listen for God to speak is prayer for me. Experiencing beauty in art and nature can also be prayer time for me. The means by which I pray to God have grown and expanded and have helped me to connect with God in new ways. Yet, still I feel as if I need to grow in my practice of prayer.
This morning when we prayed the Lord's prayer together, I recalled again the powerfulness of this prayer of Jesus. It is not only a model but a kind of centering prayer. It's words and rhythms are as familiar to me as putting on my socks and shoes each morning. And while there is a temptation to just say the words without giving thought to their meaning, there is power in the words that somehow can transform the one who says them. It's more than just a prayer to recite from memory, they are the words of our Lord Who both prays with us, prays for us, and teaches us to pray all at the same time. When I pray this prayer, my will, my wants, my desires come into line with God's will for the world.
I'm grateful for the sermon I heard this morning. I'm grateful for the church that I have been attending. I'm grateful for the gift of prayer. I'm grateful that Jesus took the time to teach us to pray.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!