After reflecting on the Creed and the Hail Mary, it is time to reflect on the Lord’s prayer.  Before diving into the prayer, this is a good opportunity to reflect on prayer in general.  What are the benefits of prayer?  Oftentimes, we do not feel a benefit in the moment, and we put our prayer to the side.  Or, we get so busy that we do not attempt to prioritize it.  Prayer has deep benefits for our lives and seeking those benefits are of utmost importance.

One of the first benefits is that prayer helps be a remedy to evil.  All of us struggle with sin in our daily lives.  Some are minor and some are major.  Sometimes the minor sins can be ignored and become major ones in our lives without us even noticing its effects.  Prayer is a powerful and efficacious remedy against sin and evil in our lives.  Through prayer, we are able to focus on the joy and thanksgiving the Lord brought in our lives.  We are also able to depend on the strength of the Lord; without it, we cannot overcome the evil in our lives.  Prayer also aids us in future struggles.  Are we anticipating and having anxiety over what is occurring in our lives?  Nervous about something about to happen?  Prayer can calm the storm which we are approaching. 

Secondly, prayer can help us obtain that which we desire.  I am not talking about a promotion at work or doing well in a class, though prayer can help with the stress of those situations.  I am talking about the deep desire for heaven we all have.  All prayer focuses on our salvation, and sometimes an unanswered prayer is meant to guide us towards that salvation for ourselves and others.  Prayer helps us see the saving actions of God in our lives even in the midst of things that bring struggle and heartache. 

Finally, prayer brings us into a relationship and friendship with God.  Like any person in our lives, if we do not communicate consistently and openly, the relationship will break down.  To have a relationship with God, we must consistently go to him and speak to him face-to-face.  We become more familiar with God through our prayer, and with familiarity comes trust.  God becomes a strength in our lives.

Prayer has many more benefits than the ones here, but these can help us begin to see the wonderful fruits that can come from prayer: to help to fight against negativity and evil in our lives, to guide us to the deep desire of salvation in a fallen world, and to build our relationship with God.