Why You Should Be Having More Fun Than You are Having Right Now

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

Pray like this:  ‘Our Father in Heaven . . . . ’

. . . .that is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?       Matthew 6:7-9

Reflection

Are you enjoying life?
 
Jesus introduced his teaching on the Lord’s prayer by saying “when you pray”, not “if”, but “when”. Prayer is basically “talking to God”, but it isn’t just talking. Listening is more important and that happens by reading the Bible, being attentive to promptings, nudges, thoughts, inclinations, conscience and more, all being guided and corrected by the Holy Spirit. So first, prayer is relying on God for your life. 

Second, God already knows what you need so Jesus must not be telling us to ask in order to give God new information or to pry out of Him what He doesn’t want to give us.
 
Third, heaven, God’s space which is the hidden dimension of our ordinary lives, contains all the resources we need for an abundant life. All we need is available from God. 

Fourth, Jesus follows up his teaching on the Lord’s prayer by telling us to “chill” (see chapter 7). “Are you worried?”, says God, “well, don’t. I’ve got this”.
 
Sometimes people tell me that I’m too intense or think too much or am too serious or don’t laugh enough or that I am often overly anxious. But every once in a while something breaks into me and I lighten up, burdens are lifted and in spite of all evidence to the contrary, life is good, piercingly good, happy, so much so that I will smile, laugh or cry. It happens not when I try to make it happen. Nor does it happen when I ask God to help me to lighten up. Actually it rarely happens in asking God for anything. It does happen however when “heaven ‘interferes’, breaks in” and, contrary to all apparent evidence, I’m at peace because everything’s fine. Whatever it is, God’s “got it”. It’s a trust I cannot conjure up, but one which happens when the whole point of prayer, trust, happens.

Prayer

“Our Father who art in heaven, thank you for a great, great, great life, one which I cannot explain apart from You. Nor can I explain it in a way that eliminates all the questions of pain and evil. Yet it’s real and indeed more real than all the pain and evil which will one day be vanquished. Thank you for moments of real life, life as is really is. Amen”