Petition: Lord, teach me to pray!
1. Talking with God
Prayer is an deeply personal conversation with God. It is not a public stage on which we parade our piety. Like two lovers sharing their dreams, hopes and sorrows in the quiet of their own company, so too must we draw off to the “inner room” of our soul, close the door by shutting out all our distractions, and talk to our Heavenly Father in the secret of our heart.
2. Abba, Father
“This is how you are to pray.” It is not often in the Gospel that Jesus is so categorical. In the Our Father he has given us the perfect prayer: First we, as his family and children, praise God’s name and ask for his kingdom of love and justice to arrive. This will come principally through his will being done by all of us. Then we ask that all may have the material and spiritual, Eucharistic bread we need. Finally, we pray for his forgiveness and protection.