You, O Lord are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.  Psalm 86:5.

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Luke 11:1.  

Things certainly are looking up.  Spring is here with its summer temperatures.  Masks are not required any longer in some buildings, nor in many stores and restaurants.  Flowers are blooming everywhere.  Jesus has risen, alleluia!  So it would seem that life is good.  At times like this, we forget that somewhere the rain is coming down hard on the earth and on people’s souls.  Perhaps someone is drowning in a flood of misery. Perhaps no one is praying for them.  All the more reason for us to do so.  

I know that as a young child, I was taught to pray by my parents.  I remember kneeling by my bed and saying, “Now I lay me down to sleep —-.”  A child’s prayer, limited in scope.  But a start.  Now I often pray the Lord’s Prayer, knowing that it covers all the bases.  Then I add the people I know who are ill or struggling.  Not often do I pray for the whole world.  I still have a lot to learn about prayer. “Lord, teach me to pray.”  I am glad that our prayers in worship are global.  

Paul said “pray constantly.” I take that to mean that we should always have a mindset which involves our absolute dependence on God.  Sometimes those spontaneous prayers, triggered by emotion, are the most heartfelt.  Nevertheless, our daily talks to the Lord are important both to Him and to us.  He listens and He answers, although not always in our timeframe or in the way we desire.  

Loving and forgiving God,  we are never too old to still learn how to pray.  Most of all, teach us how to listen.  Amen   Joan Perlich   

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