From today’s Scripture: “Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” —Mt 18:19-20

Once, in a conversation with my barber, she shared with me that she was a part of a Bible study. There they were discussing how to pray in Christ’s name and to gather in his name. In so doing, she told me, you can unlock the secret to getting what you request. Stodgy hermeneutics aside, I wish now that I would have asked her, “What is it you want?”

In some ways, this passage is asking us the same thing. Of course, we might agree with our partners about something we plan to do, something that we believe is truly good, and ask for God’s blessing, whether that be in business, family life or, I dare say, Glenmary mission planning. But doesn’t God want the best for this already? Do we so quickly forget that God’s goodness is the very source of our own? Do we think we could desire the good more than God? So why do we gather “in his name” and pray to the heavenly Father?

Yes, it is to ask for him to act, but in praying in this way we lift our gaze to heaven and put on the mind of Christ. In so doing we find that prayer isn’t a “cheat code” to getting what we want, but it is attunement to the reality of God present always in our midst.

Let us pray: Lord God, by your Spirit we remember that you are always near. Give us eyes to see you in all that we do.

Today’s author is Nathan Smith, the director of ecumenism for Glenmary and consultant for the U.S. Catholic bishops.

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