We are to ask for forgiveness, and to offer forgiveness even as the Father does on Calvary (Lk 23:34). Jesus teaches that forgiveness is the heart of the disciple’s prayer. Jesus teaches us to recognize the limits of our strength so that we can entrust ourselves to his strength with confidence. In the petition “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus is teaching us to use the experience of temptation well: not overestimating our capacities, not becoming discouraged or despairing. We need run-ins with temptation to show us where we are weak. We cannot abolish evil, but Jesus teaches us a way of not being alone with it. Those people were convinced of the existence of Something Even Greater than evil, and they put their belief in it through prayer. Think of how the churches in America were packed the days following 9/11. And what prompts that prayer is the burden of evil. If we start at the end, we realize that even the least God-minded person at times is moved to pray. Just what does the Lord teach us in the Lord’s Prayer? One day when Jesus had finished praying, one of his disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray” ( Lk 11:1). One of the things he teaches us is how to pray.
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