Tuesday, March 3

Scripture for the Day:

Jesus said, ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

– Matthew 6:7-15

Reflection – Nancy Fiore

I personally have tried for years to set up a certain time to pray. But either the phone rings, or someone come to the door or there is some other interruption. And so I am stuck with the pray-as-you-go plan. If someone calls and needs a prayer said, I write it down and hope to remember to read the paper I wrote it on, if I don’t lose the paper. I find that my best way is to pray when the thought comes into my head, whether it be a name or just someone that pops into my head and suddenly I think that perhaps it would be good to pray for that person. I can be driving somewhere and suddenly think that I haven’t had a chat with God yet today. That is what a prayer really is to me, talking to someone I love dearly and want to speak with all the time. As I am driving I may see someone who has broken down at the side of the road. It can be unsafe to stop or you may not have time to stop but you have the time to pray. If an emergency vehicle passes me on the road, I pray for the person they are going to help or taking to a place where they can receive help. So I find that prayer can come to me at any time and for many reasons. I usually end my prayer sessions with the Lord’s Prayer because in the long run that seems to be the prayer that says it all.

To ponder and pray:

When do you usually “chat with God?” Can you make time to meet God for a latte, as you would a friend you want to get to know better? Do you say all the good stuff that’s going on in your life, as well as the hard things? Do you leave time for God to talk back?