Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prayer
In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus says, ‘If two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’ In these words, Jesus gives us a powerful encouragement to use intercessory prayer.
The Lord himself is telling us that we ought to ask God directly for the things we need. Maybe we might start out by asking for material needs but anyone truly committed to the spiritual life will surely move on from these sorts of prayers to others more outwardly directed.
We move on and in time we find ourselves asking God for other things such as protection for our loved ones or for peace in the home or for the welfare of others or that the dead may rest in peace. We find ourselves too praying for more general things such as peace in the world or food for the hungry. So, while we are young, we might pray mostly for ourselves and our own needs but as we get more mature, we focus more and more on the needs of others.
However, we should take Christ’s words at face value and pray for absolutely anything we need whether it be for ourselves or for others. God may not grant all that we ask at the particular time we want it, but what we will be doing is entering into a dialogue with him. And this is the most important thing of all. Every Christian ought to be in constant dialogue with the Lord. As we go about our daily duties we should be continually thinking of God and asking him questions and telling him of our needs. This is the very best way to come close to him.                                                                  Father Alex
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