Teach me to Pray

One of the most interesting lines in scripture are the words of Jesus disciples, "Lord, teach us how to pray." They had the whole Jewish cycle of prayer, they had the law, they had the customs of their day. Yet, when they saw Jesus pray, it was different, he was different, and they wanted to know what he was saying in prayer that caused him to experience the Father in a way that was real and tangible.

Simon Tugwell says when we come to God, it is not to force our moods or our interests onto him, but to receive his interests and to let him, in a sense, share his moods with us...

In other words, prayer is when we become more a part of God. Is not this what caused the disciples to ask Jesus about his prayer? He became different. They wanted to too.

In our prayer, it is most important that we have this openness to God, this ability to take on his interests and to let him share with us. It is interesting that many who go to God in prayer hope for answers, but forget God wants to share himself with us. We should leave prayer with a greater sense of God, with a greater peace, a more wonderful hope.

I'd like to close this thought with another quote from Simon Tugwell on prayer: It is not the immediate feeling that is important; that may or may not come. What matters is that we should be, slowly and quietly, molded by  this rehearsal for and anticipation of the worship of heaven. It is a schooling for paradise.