come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong, and do not bring us
to the test.”
Reflection
In this gospel we have a peek into the prayer life
of Jesus. Prayer seemed to be one of the most salient
characteristics of Jesus’ life. Take for example the
following gospel passages. In Luke 5:16, we’re told that
“Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” In the
next chapter, he “went up on a mountain to pray, and he
prayed to God all night” (6:12). In the ninth chapter, Jesus
“left the crowds to pray alone” (9:18). Shortly thereafter,
he “took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to
pray” (9:28.). No wonder, the gospel writers could not help
but incorporate these private acts of the Lord. They are
too frequent to be ignored. Because of this, His disciple is
inspired to ask Jesus to teach him how to pray as He did.
This disciple surely knew how to pray in the way common
to the Jewish people. Yet he sensed, quite rightly, that
as a follower of Jesus he should pray in a distinctive
way, a way that expressed the distinctive message and
ministry of his Master.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021