III. Ask Something of Me

Jesus emphasizes God's readiness to hear our prayer by assuring us that God knows all that we need before we ask (Mt. 6:8). There can be no doubt that God, as Creator, knows what every creature needs for sustenance and survival, or that God knows what abilities and gifts each creature possesses and those that are lacking. Why, then, if God already knows what we need, does God want to be asked--indeed, waits to be asked? One possibility may be that God wishes us, like Solomon, to search our hearts and minds and so have the opportunity to grow in consciousness of our need, our dependency, and our weakness. Another possibility may be that God waits for us to ask because God needs our consent. God may be able to grant us only those gifts and graces that we are ready and willing to receive. Our asking is an indication of our readiness, our willingness, and our consciousness. Perhaps, God must wait on our prayer even though God knows what we need and is ready to give it.

Jesus teaches us most about prayer, and how to pray, however, by giving us his own prayer, the Our Father, as a model for all prayer. First, we address God as Father, humbly and reverently, giving him glory and seeking first his kingdom and his will, acknowledging our intimate relationship. Then we ask simply and directly for our needs, for God's forgiveness, guidance, and protection, acknowledging that all is God's. These are the essential elements of prayer. In the conferences of Cassian, the blessed Isaac, a desert father, points out that in the Our Father "There is no request for riches, no reminder of honor, no plea for power or bravery, no reference to bodily well-being or to this present life."(1) The Our Father is both a model and a summary of Jesus' teaching on prayer.

Jesus concludes his teaching on prayer by encouraging us to ask our heavenly Father for all our needs. "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you (Mt. 7:7). Thus, Jesus instructs us to dismiss all anxiety from our minds and not to worry about what we are to eat, or what we are to drink, or what we are to wear--not because these things are not important, but because God desires to give us greater gifts than these (Mt. 6:31ff). God is only waiting for us to ask. Have we ever thought of asking for these greater gifts? Gifts like the one Solomon asked for? Jesus urges us to seek first God's kingship over us, God's way of holiness (Mt. 6:33).
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(1) John Cassian: Conferences, The Classics of Western Spirituality, Paulist Press, NY, 1985, p. 116.