In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that prayer is not about telling God something He does not already know. We do not need endless words or elaborate speeches, because the Father understands our needs even before we speak them. Prayer, then, is not meant to change God’s awareness… it is meant to change us. Our prayer does not inform God; our prayer forms us!

When we pray, we place ourselves honestly before God, recognising both His greatness and at the same time our dependence. The prayer Jesus teaches, the Lord’s Prayer, beautifully expresses this movement. Its opening words turn our attention toward God: His name, His kingdom, His will. Then the prayer shifts, bringing our human needs into the light: our daily sustenance, our need for forgiveness, and our desire for strength against temptation and evil. Though brief, this prayer is both a model and a lesson, revealing that the heart of all Christian prayer is always about relationship. Saint Teresa of Ávila put it beautifully: “Prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”

Our painting by Willem van Mieris depicts a bearded hermit praying. He is set within the stillness of a rocky cave, the opening behind him revealing a distant mountainous horizon. Leaning forward over a rough stone surface, he folds his hands in quiet prayer. Before him lie a few simple companions of contemplation: open books (probably a bible), a skull recalling the passing of time, and a crucifix. His gaze rests softly on the written page, eyelids lowered, as though he is listening more with the heart than with the eyes. It is a very beautiful, contemplative scene. Looking at the hermit, we almost find ourselves longing for that same stillness of heart he has. We want to pray like him, concentrated, lonesome, undistracted. We want his ability to pray with such focus and quiet surrender.

by Father Patrick van der Vorst