True Christian Prayer - Weekday Homily Video

"I'll pray for you; keep me in your prayers." So often, those phrases are tossed out during a casual goodbye or especially when trouble is on the loose, or when some worry hovers in the air. They are perhaps forgotten as soon as the next person or crisis pops into our minds.

A businessman needed an additional half a million dollars to clinch an important deal, so on his way he went into a church to pray for the money. By chance, he knelt next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay off an urgent debt. The businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man's hand. Overjoyed, the man thanked God and the businessman, then got up and left the church. The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed, "Lord, now that I have your undivided attention, help me with what I need."

Robert Cook, president of a college in New York, once spoke at the Moody Bible Institute. Cook said that the day before, he had been at a Washington gathering and talked with then-Vice President George Bush. He said he had spoken briefly with President Ronald Reagan two hours later. Then, smiling broadly, he said, "But that's nothing! Today, I talked with God!"

Proper Disposition for Prayer

These examples of two men at prayer, a businessman and a college president, can teach us much about Christian prayer. They show us that even top-level executives and professionals still make time to pray. However, they also highlight an issue that Luke's gospel focuses on: the proper disposition for Christian prayer. In both instances, we see that God is portrayed as the big boss. Is that the best disposition for Christian prayer?

The disciples saw Jesus praying and waited until he was finished. There must have been something extraordinary about his prayer. That's why they asked him, "Teach us how to pray.” Teach us to pray as you are doing it.

The disciples' request to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1), can be understood as a quest for the proper disposition for Christian prayer. Jesus' reply can be summarized in one sentence: the appropriate disposition for Christian prayer is the disposition of a child before its father.

Many of us have grown up with an approach to prayer that involves asking God for things, offering a variety of novenas and prayers, pleading, and bartering. We may become embarrassed when we treat God like the emergency room doctor coping with our casualties.

Praying Like Children

To pray as Christians is to put ourselves in a situation where we see God as a father and speak to Him as His children. When children talk to their parents, there is no right or wrong way. They focus on one thing: to put into words and body language what they feel in their hearts.

Speaking of prayer as a father-child relationship reminds us that prayer is an activity that flows out of a relationship. We do not learn how to pray better; we become better women and men of prayer when our relationship with God becomes more intimate, like that of a father and child. If you want to improve your prayer, focus on improving your personal relationship with God, our Father.

True Christian prayer is not about getting things from God but deepening our relationship with Him as His beloved children.

• Today’s Readings

• Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page. 

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