Prayer: Speaking to God in His Own Words
March 11, 2025 - Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 6:7-15
There is a Christian song titled Let My Words Be Few. Its inspiration comes from the book of Qohelet, also known as Ecclesiastes: “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few” (Eccl 5:2). Today, Jesus teaches the same lesson.
Christian prayer should be different from the prayer of the Gentiles because our God is unlike any other god. This truth is vividly illustrated in the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40). From morning till evening, the prophets of Baal cried out, babbled, and even wounded themselves, yet their god remained silent—because he did not exist. Unaware of this, they continued in vain.
The foundation of biblical prayer is the certainty that God exists and hears the prayers of his people. Jesus adds two crucial insights: first, he calls God “your Father”, emphasizing a personal relationship; second, he reminds us that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6:8). Later in his teaching, Jesus urges us not to worry about food and clothing “like the Gentiles do”, for “your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Mt 6:32).
This raises an important question: if God already knows our needs, why pray at all?
The Mystery of Prayer
Scripture does not fully resolve this paradox, and Jesus does not dismiss prayer simply because God knows everything. Instead, he calls us to pray with a different mindset. Many approach prayer only in times of need, seeing it solely as a means to ask for things. But prayer is far more than making requests.
Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus frequently withdrawing to pray—not merely to ask, but to converse with his Father. Even in Gethsemane, facing his Passion, he prays three times, repeating his request. If prayer were only about informing God or persuading him, this would seem unnecessary. Yet Jesus shows us that prayer is something deeper.
Learning the Language of Prayer
Countless books have been written about prayer, each offering different insights. However, Pope Benedict XVI beautifully captures its essence: learning to pray is like learning a language. Just as we acquire our native language from those closest to us, we learn to pray from God himself. Prayer is not something we invent; it is something we receive. We pray in God’s language—the language of Scripture. The prayer Jesus taught us, the Our Father, is the prime example of this.
An Intimate Dialogue
Prayer is not about informing God of something he already knows, nor is it a technique to manipulate him with many words. It is, above all, an expression of relationship—an intimate dialogue between us and our Father. True prayer is less about getting something from God and more about being with him, learning his voice, and speaking his words.