Before I forget...   

      Day after day, O Lord of my life,
shall I stand before you face to face.
With folded hands, O Lord of all worlds,
shall I stand before you face to face.

Under the great sky
in solitude and silence,
with humble heart,
shall I stand before you face to face.

In this laborious world of yours,
busy with toil and trouble,
among hurrying crowds,
shall I stand before you face to face.

And when my work is done in this world,
O King of Kings,
alone and speechless,
shall I stand before you face to face.
    - Tagore from India

     As we stand before God in prayer, God is not some stranger whom we must approach timidly.  We have the freedom as children of God to say boldly what is in our hearts, trusting that God knows what we really need in our lives.
     A good story, well told, marches along on sturdy verbs.  So, too, does a good prayer.  When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he provided a prayer that used vigorous verbs as a model when making petitions to God:
       Give (us today our daily bread)
       Forgive (us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.)
       Save (us from the time of trial.)
       Deliver (us from evil.)
    Notice what Jesus didn't say:
       Let us today find our daily bread.
       We hope that we may be forgiven, as we forgive those
       who sin against us.
       Be with us in the time of trial.
       May we escape evil.
     Jesus gives us permission to be bold.  But he didn't invent the idea of being bold.  The Psalms are filled with powerful verbs.  Notice the first three verses of Psalm 80:
       Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
            you who lead Joseph like a flock!
       You who are enthroned upon the Cherubim, shine forth
            before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
       Stir up your might,
           and come to serve us
       Restore us, O God
     Why do we ask God "to be with us"?  It goes against the promises of Christ Jesus:  I am with you always to the end of the ages (Matt.  28:20).  For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them (Matt. 18:20).  A crucial title of Jesus is Emmanuel, a Hebrew term meaning "God is with us" (Matt. 1:23).  God is always with God's people, as to ask God to "be with us" is regrettable.
     Don't be afraid to use power-filled verbs in your prayer to God.  Maybe it's time for all of us to be a little bolder in prayer. 
     Are you comfortable with the Lord's Prayer?

Fr. Bill