Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Sister Clarette SSpS
Tuesday 1st Week of Lent
How do you pray? Some pray from a book, others pray the rosary. Still others simply gaze at God in wordless stillness or repeat a mantra. Some pray kneeling, some sitting, others while riding in a jeepney or walking along the street. Some feel they must be in a church, before a statue, in order to pray. People often ask: “What is the best way to pray?”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us that the way we pray flows from our image of God and our unique relationship with Him. Jesus prayed in a simple, intimate way, born of His love-relationship with the Father. When He prayed, “Abba, Father” (Mathew 6, 9), He revealed His closeness to God — His freedom to speak trustingly about His deepest fears and hopes, and His faith in being heard as the Beloved Son.
This is a new face of God compared to the Old Testament images of King, Judge, or Creator. Jesus reveals God as Abba — a loving Father who desires our happiness and well-being.
So how do I pray? Do I imagine God as a punishing, demanding figure, always watching for mistakes? Or do I see Him as a loving Father, full of care and compassion?
Learning from Jesus, we can approach God as a child sitting on a father’s lap — secure in love, trusting in protection, daring to whisper our heart’s desires, knowing He listens. As Romans 8:15 reminds us: “You received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Prayer is not only speaking to God; it is also listening to His heartbeat and His Word of forgiveness. It gives us courage to forgive those who hurt us and strength to live as His beloved children.
Each of us has a unique way of praying, shaped by how we relate to God. Whether through words, silence, gestures, or daily life, prayer is our response to His love. The Good News is that Jesus gives us His Spirit, teaching us to pray as beloved sons and daughters of the Father.
So let us pray: “Abba, Father, teach me to pray with trust and love. Help me to listen to Your voice, and to live each day as Your beloved child.”
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