Listen...Do you hear it?

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now, this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.  
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

Whenever I read this portion of scripture I want to tell anyone who might be around to shut up because we are hearing an intimate conversation between Jesus and His Father.  Like any good steward, He is making an accounting of His service as He knows that it is about to end.  He prays not for the world but for those that the Father gave to Him because they are staying in the world while He is coming to the Father.  Do you notice something about the prayer?  Jesus is holding nothing back. He is speaking to the Father as if He is in the same room and in a conversational tone of voice.  It is plain speaking of the kind you have between those who know each other well and who share confidences all of the time.  This, I believe, teaches us how to pray and how we should construct our relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Prayer does not have to be fancy and full of King James Style English.  Prayer should come from the heart.  Don't pray to impress, pray to communicate. Leave the flowery phrases to those that write them for a living.  Pray from your heart directly into the heart of God.  Yeah, He loves you that much. 

Please remember your family and friends that may be in Purgatory. Not everyone goes there but some do and they need your prayers to shorten their stay.  If the person you are praying for is not there, another deserving soul will receive the benefit from your sacrifice of praise.