Your Father Knows – Reflection on Matthew 6:7-15
We have our traditional and important prayers, including The Lord’s Prayer to our Father. There is something quite intriguing and fundamental to our belief in God in Jesus’s response to how to pray. If “your father knows what you need before you ask him,” we can acknowledge that. As we see in the Psalms, this can range from desperate lamentations to glorious gratitude. The Father knows the need to express our condition in our humanness, so why do we even need to do or say anything if the Father knows? I believe that God desires moments of our undivided attention, which are made possible through our willing choice. The absolute best way to do this is to set aside everything that gets in the way, including our emotions, pain, and physical surroundings of worldly din. By creating silence in our minds and hearts, we make room for the Father to be with us with as much Divinity as we can handle. As we immerse ourselves in God’s love, we become transformed and welcoming to the Father’s blessings and grace.
The Lord’s Prayer, by James Tissot.
The full-resolution painting and more details are available on the Brooklyn Museum website.
Additional Ordinary Time Reflections
Matthew 6:7-15 – Scripture*
7 “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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Additional Thoughts
Thank you for meditating on this Gospel and reading this Lectio Divina on Matthew 6:7-15 Reflection – Your Father Knows.
Would you like to contribute related thoughts to these Lectio reflections on the Gospel readings? Since Lectio is not the only contemplative prayer style, others might appreciate these types of expressions in this ministry. Do you see God’s grandeur everywhere and unconditionally enjoy sharing the love of Christ that you have inside? Are you willing to be anonymous in what you would share? If so, email me.
Prayer for young families:
Lord, let the young families of our communities experience your joy, peace, comfort, and love despite worldly distractions.
Attributions
*This site has permission to use the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) Bible Matthew 6 passage.
The Immersive Prayer website follows the guidelines for image web use at the Brooklyn Museum and the Jewish Museum websites.
Page and discussion group on these Lectio Divina daily Gospel Readings.
Discussion group on St. John of the Cross.