Abwun D'bashmaja (Our Father in Heaven)

Matthew 6: 7-15

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus teaches us how and what to pray.  I have a giggle every time I read this passage because it starts off: Don’t babble.  Who among us hasn’t babbled before the Lord?  I know I have, in fact I’m guilty of this almost every day when I kneel to pray.  I am sure it is an expression of some kind of faithlessness on my part.  It’s as if I think I have to explain everything I’m thinking in detail to He who made me and has known me before I was born.  Jesus even says in this passage that God knows what you need before you need it.  When I read that I am reminded of a bible study I attended years ago.  The teacher said, “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God.”  It stuck with me in the context of this passage as a reminder of His omniscience.  Jesus was essentially saying the same thing.  God doesn’t need our reminder, nor does He require us to point things out.  He already knows.  Our prayers are OUR obedience. Our prayers are to keep us focused, in faith, on Him who supplies our every need. Our prayers are a surrender of our imperfect will to His absolutely perfect will for us.  And so, we are taught to pray properly because left to our own devices we would babble. 

While I could babble-on about this prayer, I wanted to share a peaceful moment about this so you might experience it as well.  I practice Ignatian Meditation, which is (to put it very simply) an immersion into scripture by “placing yourself in the scene”.  This is one of the scriptures I was attempting to immerse myself which inspired me to look up what the prayer sounded like in Aramaic.  For those who don’t know, Aramaic was the language of Jesus.  The language is beautiful, and if we close our eyes as we meditate on this passage, listen to it spoken in His tongue we might be able to better understand and immerse ourselves in the tranquil faith of the prayer He taught. 

To share this blessing with you all here is a version to enjoy.  Let us pray.

Here I am, Lord, Send me!

Lisa Brandel