WEEKLY REFLECTION
The Gospel Reading is from the Gospel of St Luke (11:1-13). Here we have the apostles asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. Personal or devotional prayer was not common in the ancient Jewish faith, so when the apostles saw Jesus praying often and looking so refreshed afterward, they wanted to experience the same refreshment. Jesus gives the apostles Luke's version of the Our Father, a shorter and simpler form than in Matthew's gospel. Either one is the perfect prayer that recognizes God the Father as the supreme creator of heaven and earth and all that is. Jesus then assures the apostles that God, as Father, hears all prayers and cannot refuse anyone when prayers come to Him in faith and sincerity and are in accordance with the divine Plan.

Jesus taught all of His disciples, including modern-day followers of Christ, that prayer is about fellowshipping with God through praise and supplication, without the desire to be seen or noticed by people.

Throughout the Gospels, we see the example of Jesus’ prayer life. We see a general idea of how long He prayed, how often He prayed, how He prayed, and even how He taught us to pray.

In other words, Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples that prayer is primarily about intimacy and fellowship with God and that it should never be about us being seen by others as “holy,” or about how long or how great your prayers can be.

When we have a true sincere relationship with a person, we develop that relationship because we desire to. We want to spend time with that person because we enjoy it. We don’t spend time with a true friend just to be seen by others as cool or important.
                                                                                                                          
This is exactly what God desires with us. He wants us to spend time with Him in prayer because we want to, and because we enjoy the time we share with Him.

After Jesus teaches on how not to pray, He immediately goes into how we should pray. And when He explains how we should pray, He decides to give us a template of what prayer should look like.

The moral of this story is: Your relationship with God should come first and then the answers to prayers will follow. So, what is your Prayer Life like? Perhaps it could use a workout! Something to think about during your prayer time this week!