NOTES for Mat 6:7-15
The Lord continues to speak about our need for complete concentration in our relationship with Him: when we pray, nothing should distract us—neither externally (see Matt 6:5-6) nor internally. Indeed, our many words in prayer are often a sign of our “absence” from what we are saying. But with God we must be fully present—with our whole being—and not let our thoughts wander, but be honest and simple—poor in spirit. God truly knows what is in our hearts and does not need our verbose attempts to explain it to Him. He wants us, after searching within ourselves, to find the main thing we have for Him: what truly concerns us, what we really need and genuinely desire, and what we sincerely thank Him for. And so, to help us, He offers this prayer—perhaps the best prayer in the world—for God Himself taught it to us. In it He has contained everything we might sometimes want to express when addressing God: praise, thanksgiving, repentance, and petitions. In fact, this prayer contains every possible direction our prayer may take. Of course, this does not mean that other prayers should be forgotten. We should simply remember that the Lord, sharing with us what is most important, most precious, and simplest, gives us the freedom to “create prayer” together with Him.