HOMILY OF THE 11TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: WHEN YOU PRAY
BY: Fr. Paul Karabari
2 Cor 11:1-11; Psalm 111:1-4, 7-8; Matt 6:7-15
“In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
In the Gospel of today (Matthew 6:7-15), We are taught how to receive rewards from our good actions. But we focus on the aspect of prayer. We might want to question the value of merely trotting out the words unless this leads us to a deeper meditation and communication with God. Jesus specifically teaches us not to pray mere words without engaging our understanding, which, as many of us know, it is all too easy to do. In this context, it makes little sense to regard these great words as a precise formula, to be repeated word-for-word. It makes more sense as a guideline: bullet-points for several minutes (or even hours!) of prayer.
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Adam Clarke said, “Prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man a sight of his misery; to humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith, to animate his hope, to raise his soul from earth to heaven, and to put him in mind that there is his Father, his country, and inheritance.” Jon Courson says that when we pray we “don’t need to inform the Lord or convince the Lord, we need to connect to the Lord.” The goal of prayer is not to impress. It is not to entice, and it is not to inform God. The goal of prayer is to fellowship with your heavenly Father. It is to connect with Him on a deep level.
Children of God must never abuse their relationship with their Father. We must not use prayers to gain attention in the eyes of others. God knows our hearts and even our motivations (John 2:23-25). When we pray, we need to know who we are speaking about and His supremacy.
Prayer to God is to show our total dependence upon Him. We rely on Him for every physical need as well as our spiritual needs. Prayer, therefore, is to give thanks to God and trust in the Lord. The supremacy of God’s glory and will is what we must seek. It is one thing to pray, but it is entirely a different thing to pray right. Prayer is not about sugar-coated words. It must spring from the deepest part of our being. It opens us up to God, who already knows us. Prayer session is not a theatre session. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God give us the grace to have a good relationship with Him through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.
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