Enabler to All Blessings
Seeing Jesus
transformed at Mount Hermon (Mat 17:1), a significant event in the life of the
apostles, they entreated Jesus to teach them how to pray.
The Lord's Prayer
that Jesus taught the apostles to say, on the face of it, has no allusions to
granting of any physical or material blessings as such. The prayer,
probably one of the briefest in the Bible, is however laden with essential
truths that enable the blessings. Each of the lines in the prayer represents a
theme for deep reflection.
There are seven
themes in all, each reinforcing the other, to help develop a positive
disposition to knowing God and His will in our life, and thereby addressing all
our deepest human needs.
Each of these seven
themes in the Our Father point to an area of our life where we seek our
Heavenly Father’s intervention. To obtain the reward that each theme promises
we need to do our bit and actively seek it – appreciating what is needed and
doing it.
1.
ABBA: All of us whatever our age
and gender desire a father-figure at some point in our life. When we are
young our human father serves that purpose well and for many their human father
is a role model for all of their life. But, as you grow older and begin
dealing with more abstractions and complex issues, some deeply moral in
nature, you want an all-knowing father-figure to 'confer' with at any hour
of day or night, to nudge you in the right direction, to de-risk as much of the
life-altering decisions that you have to take, and egg you on to persevere
despite bumps and roadblocks on the way. Jesus through this prayer points you
to the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Father who neither slumbers nor
sleeps – but is awake always to hear your plea and answer to your needs.
2.
Honour: Absolute obedience is the greatest
form of honour. As with the heavenly Father we need to honor our earthly
parents of which the scripture is very clear rests prosperity and long life -
things we pray for most often for ourselves and our loved ones. The discipline
of obedience delivers the priceless grace of overall well-being. The Lord's
Prayer encourages us to cultivate the proper disposition for disproportionate
outcomes by loving our parents as much as we love the Heavenly Father.
3.
Will: God's kingdom is made of love, hope
and faith; His will and desire for us is to lead a sacramental life; the Lord's
Prayer urges us to do so. The devil's will, in stark contrast, is to fan
wickedness, enmity, strife, fear, anxiety, desolation and malevolence. There is
no soft-peddling the issue. This is war. It is demanded of you to take sides.
One side may seem to have all the strength. God cautions us not to go by
appearances, but march in faith knowing victory is ours - for one and
only one reason – the truth is on our side. With victory comes freedom to
live an uncompromised life and with that all our fears of perceived threats
evaporate which is also a common human prayer. God says make my will yours at
all times and all will be well with you even if the evidence at hand seems to
be to the contrary.
4.
Word: Man does not live by bread alone
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. People chased Jesus for
healings, bread, and wanted to witness miracles being performed. They
weren't there to hear his message to turn away from sin and achieve salvation.
So, through the Lord's Prayer we are invited to yearn for the Word of God that
ensures we live in grace on to eternity, rather than live for that which
is temporary and eventually turns to waste. And, in doing so our prayers for
peace, joy and fulfillment is answered without specifically asking for it.
5.
Forgiveness: Bitterness gnaws at our very soul
and makes us literally ill and fearful. The Lord's Prayer asks us to reconcile
with those who have wronged us. To pray for them and seek their well-being. To
free ourselves from uncharitable thoughts toward the person. Above all, to desist
from slander and character assassination of the person and any other form of
retributive justice. In the measure we forgive God too will forgive us our
sins. For unforgiveness is sin in God's eyes. When we do completely forgive and
free ourselves of those weighty feelings, our health improves, we are more
productive, we can think right, and gain blessings that we haven't even
prayed for. When we live the Our Father - we indeed live. Otherwise we are just
skeleton with flesh that breathes. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: you
cannot love someone and not think of them and pray for them every day; also
true, you cannot pray for someone whom you do not love - they probably need it
more than the ones you love.
6.
Test: Adam and Eve were tested and they
failed; Jesus was tested and He succeeded. He weaponized God's Word for
himself. We are enjoined to do likewise. We acknowledge,
in the Lord's Prayer, that storms will come in our life and we
ask for His strength to withstand it with the Word. For the Word is God. The
Lord's Prayer is leading us to complete dependency. "Not mine, but yours
will be done". In that there is victory over all things and we shall not
want (Psalm 23)
7.
Deliverance: From things seen and unseen; from
the lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and all forms of depravity; to seek the
truth and be free. While pain from injury or mutilation or the death of a loved
one is the worst that we imagine can happen to us, the Lord's Prayer is warning
us that being cast in eternal fire has no comparison. So, pray unceasingly to
be delivered from the machinations of the evil one.
The human tendency
is to respond to what ails us in the present by saying multiple prayers which
definitely have their role in our life, especially the Rosary for
protection.
Jesus
in teaching the apostles the Lord's Prayer is saying that
this prayer is all they need - grow in its understanding and live it.
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