Our Father!

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Gal 2:1-2,7-14; Lk 11:1-4

Today’s Gospel highlights that prayer is, or rather should be, personal and relational. 

Edified by the way Jesus is praying, the disciples feel an internal compulsion to request Jesus to teach them how to pray. 

Upon their request, Jesus teaches them the famous ‘Our Father’ prayer, which is our everyday invocation. 

The beautiful insight we have here is that Jesus extends his privilege to all when he teaches his followers to begin their prayer with the words ‘Our Father.’

By teaching them to call God Father, Jesus wants their prayer to be very personal and relational. 

Hence, anyone who prays with these words cannot have an alienated understanding of God. God is their loving Father, and they are related to Him as His beloved children. 

Also, by teaching them to call God their father, Jesus makes himself a beloved brother to all those who call upon God. 

Jesus was never estranged from his Father. Nor does he want us to have our prayers impersonal. 

Closeness with God is evidenced in our personal and relational attitudes. 

Let us pray that we may experience an affectionate Father’s love through our prayers. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar