Monday, February 19, 2024

Reflection for February 20, Tuesday of the First Week of Lent: Matthew 6:7-15


Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

“This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ 

“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

If you have five things to do everyday, is prayer included in that five? 

When we pray with all our heart, we allow the good Lord to nourish our parched spirits. Through our prayers we also invite the good Lord to come into our lives. And it’s also through our humble prayers that we slowly but surely develop our profound friendship with Jesus. 

In the gospel, Jesus teaches us how to pray: It’s simple, short and direct and it does not beat around the bush. This is how we have to pray also for the Lord knows what we need beforehand. We must also be sincere and always humble in prayer before our God. 

For example, do we close our eyes when we pray the Our Father? Does this prayer make us sometimes cry when we pray it? Do we still kneel when we pray this prayer? These are all acts of faith that would help us have a more personal connection and encounter with God. 

Prayer is also like a personal conversation with God, we talk to God though our prayers and we in turn allow God to talk to us when we keep quite and simply listen to Him. But, why do we pray? We pray because prayer strengthens us, prayer heals us, prayer gives us hope.

How important is prayer to your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

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