Prayer of the Persons of God

WORD 2day: Thursday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June, 16, 2022: Sirach 48: 1-14; Matthew 6: 7-15

Elijah and Elisha - these two personalities have been churning our minds these days! Wondrous deeds, challenging words, and above all, demanding prayers! Yes, you heard it right. Demanding prayers, not in the sense of demanding from God, but prayers that demand a way of life from those who are involved in praying. There is a characteristic difference in the prayers that persons of God make and that is what Jesus tries to teach us today. 

Prayer is not about begging God for things that we badly need! That makes the relationship so far from the question of dignity and self-respect. Instead, prayer is discussing with God my Father and Mother, the concerns that fill my mind at a point of time. It is a moment of colloquy, a sharing of concerns, an entrustment of care. That is what a Christ-ian prayer is all about.

The Our Father is one such prayer, a prayer of a person of God; a prayer that puts God at the centre and not my needs; a prayer that is bothered not so much about receiving the blessings as about being blessings to others; a prayer that does not seek a secure life but a sincere life, a prayer that does not concentrare on the results of getting something, but pays attention to and builds relationship! The prayer of a person of God, is born out of one's life and renews one's life at one and the same time.

Prophets are persons of God, par excellence. They stand for God, they speak for God and they challenge us on behalf of God. Jesus was a prophet too, and that is why he calls us all to be prophets like him. Let our daily life be in imitation of these prophets; let our daily prayer be a prayer of the persons of God.