Teach Us to Pray with the Rev. Dr. Amy Slaughter Myers

St. Francis Spiritual Sustenance: July 20, 2022 ================================

Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples (Luke 11:1).

Have you ever asked God to teach you to pray?

That's what Jesus' disciples ask in our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday.

Last Sunday's Gospel featured Mary, sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to his teachings, listening to his stories, his parables, listening to his experience of God. It is the posture of listening that Jesus himself models in Luke's Gospel when he himself relates to the One who sent him whom he calls Father. Jesus teaches his disciples the words that we now call the Lord's Prayer. This is what that prayer sounds like in Luke:

Jesus told the disciples, "When you pray, say: Father, uphold the holiness of your name. Bring in your kingdom. Give us the bread we need for today. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who has wronged us. And don't lead us into temptation." (Luke 11: 2-4 CEB) These words may be both familiar and unfamiliar to you. How do you hear them today?

As I sit in one of the places that I go to pray, I am struck by the petition that we ask God for the bread we need for today. Give us our daily bread. Give us the bread we need day by day.

As I hear it, Jesus teaches us to trust in God's mercies which come new each day. Jesus teaches us to ask for the bread that we need today - no more than that, no less than that - trusting that the following day, God will provide the bread we need for that day, and so on. There is enough.

I am reminded of the story in Exodus 16 when God rains down manna from heaven. God promises to feed the Israelites and God does, instructing them not to hoard it, but to receive what they need each day.

Today be aware of God's provision. Trust in God's daily mercies. Ask God to teach you to pray.