Recently I heard someone comment about “Peter’s prayer.” When Jesus asked him to stand watch for an hour, what did Peter do? He slept! At the most critical time in his life when the forces of darkness were being unleashed in their fulness, Peter decided to take a nap. And we know the fruit of this prayer: shortly afterwards he publicly denied that he even knew Jesus.
We are entering now into a critical time, not only in the Church, but in history. Jesus tells us to go with him into the desert and to pray. How many of us will sleep instead? He told the disciples to watch and pray lest they be put to the test. He tells us the same.
Today the Church reviews with us Jesus’ teaching on prayer (Matthew 6:7-15).
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’”
I have never heard pagans pray. In fact, I didn’t even know they prayed. From what Jesus says, it sounds like their main type of prayer was asking things from God. And their style seemed to be saying a lot of words, with the belief that the more they hammered away at God, the more they would wear him down. First, Jesus reminded the disciples that their heavenly Father already knew their needs and was going to take care of them. They didn’t have to twist his arm by saying long and complicated prayers.
Jesus continued:
“This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
God is not a distant God nor one reluctant to answer prayers. He doesn’t sit back with his arms folded and demand that his children jump through the hoops before he condescends to bless them. He is Father, which means he is near to his children, attentive to their needs, and eager to bless them in every way possible. Prayer begins by reminding us who God really is and who we are.
In the second half of the prayer, Jesus summarizes all of our needs in four simple petitions. The third of these petitions is:
“And lead us not into temptation.”
Pope Francis called for a re-translation of this phrase because it gives the impression that God leads us into temptation, which, of course is not true. He indeed allows us to be put to the test in order to strengthen and purify our faith. We ask from him the grace to support us in the times of temptation and to help us to “pass” the test.
At the outset of Lent we are challenged to enter into the desert with Jesus for forty days. The first temptation we face is whether or not to accept this challenge. There is a part of us that wants to devote the time of Lent doing the “St. Peter prayer.” We can look upon Lent as just another set of dates on the calendar, and do nothing different to change our lives. The temptation is to hold back and ignore this current of grace that runs through the Church during these sacred days.
Our first Lenten act is to ask the grace to embrace the challenge of turning our lives around, spending more time in prayer, and preparing for the trials that are to come. Let us not waste these forty days.
“One does not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4).
