Teach Us to Pray

Lord, teach us to pray.

To follow Your lead. To find a place where we can listen, away from all the voices that aren’t Yours.

To give glory to God first. To ask for Your kingdom to come. To surrender that Your ways would reign.

To trust that You will give what we need. To remember we need nothing more. To forgive as You forgive. To avoid test and temptation, trial and woe.

In this day, too—in a world ablaze in corruption, in a Church wounded from suffering, in our own lives riddled with sin—teach us to pray.

Lord, teach us.

Together as Your disciples, gathered at Your feet. Together as Your Church, gathered by Your Word.

Never alone, never outcast, never forgotten. Always Your beloved, always Your own.

In our sisterhood, too—in our homes and workplaces, in our families and friendships, in our parishes and schools—teach us to pray.

Lord.

May we put You first, always. May we center our lives in the truth that You Are.

May we begin our day with praise. May we trust our hours to Your care. May we return each time we fail. May we end the night with thanks.

In our hearts, too—in our faith and doubt, in our hope and fear, in our joy and grief—teach us to pray.

Lord, teach us.

Guide our feet in Your paths. Direct our lives to Your love. Draw our hearts to Your wisdom.

Let Your teachings challenge, unsettle, rouse, convert, restore, encourage, and delight us.

In our Church, too—in worship and community, in Word and Sacrament, in thought and action—teach us to pray.

Lord, teach us to pray.

Keep teaching us. Keep guiding us. Keep turning our hearts back to You.

In our lives, too—in our busyness and worry, in our longing and anxiety, in our desires and distractions—teach us to pray.

May our lives become daily prayer, offered to You.

May our lives become daily prayer, offered to You.Click to tweet

If praying the Our Father prayer isn't a daily practice for you, make it one for the next week. See how it changes your eyes for the world and God.

Laura Kelly Fanucci is a mother, writer, and project director for the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. She is the author of several books including Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting and the co-author of Living Your Discipleship: 7 Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling. She writes about parenting as a spiritual practice at her blog. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of the Blessed Conversations Mystery: Behold study found here.