In its best form, prayer is a simple conversation with God who is present to us within and without at all times. Because of this fact any times, places, and events offer the possibility of prayer, which is why prayer can take on so many different forms. The real issue is, are we awake enough, open enough, practiced enough to see and to take those opportunities to converse with God in all places and at all times?
Like any skill, prayer takes practice, lots of practice. Some prayers are spontaneous matters. For example, every one of us knows the experience of suddenly crying out in prayer when we are confronted with the abject reality of fear, whatever its source. Or, when we encounter the great mystery of death, ours or a loved one’s. Or, when we see the suffering of another that is beyond our skills and abilities to affect. In those moments we become imminently aware of our weaknesses and our need for help, guidance, or some kind of divine intervention. That kind of prayer seems to come naturally.
Our greatest need is to discover our unique meaning and purpose in this life. Why are we here? Why did God make us the unique person we are? As followers of Christ, we know and believe that our deepest reason for being here is to come to know God, to love him more each day, and to serve him in this world so that we can be with him for eternity in the world to come. God has no needs. He does not ‘need’ us to love him, he simply loves us unconditionally, and he has given us the freedom to respond to His love, or not. He has also given each of us unique skills or talents. The proper response is to use those skills and talents for the good, no matter how small or how great. Prayer helps us both to recognize the gifts God has given us, and then how to use them meaningfully, purposefully, and selflessly in service of the good, the common good.
Prayer was central to Jesus’ life. We see that throughout the Gospels. He gives us an example to follow. We see him going off alone to pray on many occasions. Each of these occasions was followed by the major events of his public ministry. And when asked by one of the disciples, “Master, teach us how to pray.” (Lk 11:1-4), Jesus responded by giving us the prayer we now know as “The Lord’s Prayer”. It is clear, then, that prayer is both a natural and a learned skill.
There are two great movements in prayer. The first is the one we think of most often, that is, the prayers that we say ‘on our knees’ really or figuratively. It is the interior form of prayer. This movement can take many forms. The most common forms are prayers of petition, thanksgiving, or the deeper more focused forms of prayer called meditation and contemplation. But there is another form, too. It is the prayer that we do ‘on our feet’, or the exterior form of prayer. This form of prayer is the natural response to our deepening, ever more intimate and personal interior relationship with God. It is the prayer that we do publicly in our daily lives at home and in the wider community. To put it another way, the prayer we practice in solitude and silence deepens our relationship with God, who is love itself (1 Jn 4:8), which leads us naturally then to an ever-deepening desire to love all others and all things more dearly. Is this not the movement implied by the Two Great Commandments: to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves?
Prayer, then, is more than just a spiritual first aid kit. It ultimately leads us to love in action. Our prayerful relationship with God is revealed in our thoughts, words, and actions toward God, ourselves, and others. Prayer is a source of comfort, strength, endurance, and hope. Prayer is our shield from harm. It is our guard against stumbling and falling or is our recourse to forgiveness when we have stumbled and fallen. It is our shelter in hard times. And it is the source of our strength. It is the practice of joy and thanksgiving that arises from the recognition of God’s presence, his nearness to us, and his constant, enduring, unconditional love and faithfulness toward us in all times, in all places, and in all people. Thanks be to God!
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