The word of God is a two-edged sword. When god speaks and utters the word, it goes forth and brings about what God wills. God waters us with the word. God nurtures us with the word. God’s ultimate word to us is the Word made flesh. Jesus, being the face of the Living God, speaks to us of the mercy, justice and compassion of Abba God. The word was with God from the beginning and will bring about God’s promises and fulfill them. (Is 55: 10-11)
(Mt 6: 7-15) Jesus instructs us on prayer. He has already this Lent told us to go into our cellars and close the door when we pray. This is the prayer of contemplation when we quiet ourselves and rest in God.
What is said here applies to vocal prayer. Jesus reminds us not to babble and multiply words when we pray. Vocal prayer has its place; however, the mere multiplication of words is not what Abba God wants. God already knows what we need before we know that we need it.
The simple straight forward petitions in the Our Father are all we need. First, we give glory to God by saying “hallowed be your name.” We ask for God’s word to come forth and achieve God’s purpose, God’s will.
We ask for food and nourishment. We do not need to ask for abundance. God will provide our food each day, including the nourishment of the Eucharist.
Forgive us our debts reminds us of jubilee. Everything is gift from God. Earthly goods are not to be amassed in silos. They are to be shared by all. Thus we forgive debts and debtors. We readily forgive those who owe us.
We ask God to lead us and guide us so that the powers and principalities do not overwhelm us and lead us astray.
Finally, Jesus reminds us that forgiveness of those who offend us is required of us. We forgive because much has been forgiven us. Forgiveness is a process and may take time but we have to be willing to work through the stages and let go. Jesus modeled forgiveness for us in his final moments on the cross. We can do no less than he did.
When we pray, we enter into the Presence that is God in the very depths of our being. God’s primary language is silence. We listen in silence for God’s Word.