PRAYER AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Transcription

1 1 PRAYER AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE This evening I will talk about what prayer is and therefore why we pray; different types of prayer; suggestions on how to pray; and how God answers our prayers THE WHAT AND WHY OF PRAYER A Jesuit priest puts it this way: Either you and I are more important than God or God is more important than we are. The answer is obvious, isn t it? God is more important than we are. Further, if what God wants and does is more important than what we want or do, then more of our attention should be focused on what God is and does. So we pray to learn what God wants and asks of us. When prayer becomes too self-centered, even if it is centered upon noble and holy desires, if the focus of prayer is I, me, or me, we are going to be in difficulty. In defining prayer we can say first that prayer is a personal response to God s presence. This means that God first makes himself present to us. Prayer is our awareness of God s presence. It is what God does to us, rather than anything we do. Prayer is communication with God. This means two things. First, our prayer must be more than just formal, memorized prayers. We need to speak with God like to person: telling the Lord in our own words what we think and feel. This also means that we must LISTEN to God. If we do all the talking in prayer, God never has a chance to get through to us. So its important that some our prayer time is quiet silence and listening.

2 2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRAYER One distinction between the different types of prayer: public and personal. Public prayer is the prayer that is done by the community together. Each of the sacraments is public prayer, especially the Eucharist. The Church teaches that our Sunday Liturgy is the source and summit of the Christian life. Consider the example of a funnel: everything flows through it and everything then comes out of it. Our personal prayer leads us up to the Eucharist and having been nourished by God s Word and Body and Blood of Christ we have the desire to pray to sustain that relationship. Besides mass and the sacraments the only other real form of public prayer in the Church today is the Liturgy of Hours. This is the praying together of psalms and canticles from the Bible. This is not being done in most parishes. There are a variety of different types of personal prayer - prayer we do alone and in private - and each is valid and useful for different people. We don t have to use all these different types although we should give them a try. At different times in our life we will use different methods. Formulated and memorized prayer: This would include prayers like the Our Father, The Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and the Act of Contrition. Two popular formalized prayers are the Stations of the Cross and the Rosary. There are some good reasons why Christians have always leaned on this type. There are many beautiful prayers that express well. They connect us with the eternal Church. They connect us with the universal Church. Sometimes we just don t know what to say. Sometimes we are too tired, distracted, or emotional

3 3 When we use what one priest calls off the rack prayers, we need to avoid praying them without meaning or reflection. He says we ought not think that our prayers are magic in the sense if we say them right or often enough we will get our wish. Spontaneous Prayer: This is using our own words and not someone else s in talking with God. Some people never get beyond formal prayer to this very enriching style. Meditation: Actually, meditation is something we do to lead us to spontaneous prayer. Meditation is thinking about God or what God does or about anything good, holy, or pious. For example, if you take time to stare at the cross and think about Jesus dying for us -- that is meditation. Or when you read a passage from the Bible and think about what it means to you, you are meditating. Meditation doesn t become prayer until it leads you to spontaneous communication with God or to contemplation. It is not enough to think ABOUT God, we must talk with God. Having thought about the cross and what it means, express to God in your own words your gratitude and wonder at his love. Contemplation: This prayer is sometimes called Centering or Quiet Prayer. That is to say, in silence we try to empty ourselves of thoughts and distraction to simply be in the presence of God. Traditionally Catholics have talked about four attitudes of prayer. We make a PACT to pray to God with one of these four reasons: Petition (must do more than this <child>) Adoration Contrition Thanksgiving

4 4 THE CONSEQUENCES OF PRAYER Fr. Francis Vanderwall, S.J. identifies many consequences of prayer. When we pray rightfully and regularly, certain things begin to happen. 1. Prayer ought to change one s perspective. Prayer asks of us that we believe that God dwells within us and that we can experience that divine presence in our lives. Once we come to experience that presence of God in our lives, they can never be the same again. A person of prayer discovers that even in the face of turmoil the peace of God s presence can be found and change our perspective. 2. Prayer gives us insight into our selves and our problems. 3. Prayer makes us more compassionate. As we meet our Lord regularly in the solitude or prayer, we begin to realize how much Jesus empathizes with us. When we begin to experience God s compassion for us, we begin to be more empathetic and compassionate with our neighbor. 4. Forgiveness is a fourth consequence of prayer. Through prayer we become more aware of God s unconditional love for us. We become aware of the implications of being loved by a God who always forgives, always relents when we ask for forgiveness. A person of prayer more readily forgives those who cause hurts. 5. A fifth consequence of prayer is a healthier self-esteem. When we become aware of the height and depth, width and breadth of God s love for us we discover that we are good and lovable. To be sure, we recognize our sinfulness more because we want to be more pleasing in God s eyes.

5 5 SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PRAY In preparing to pray, keep in mind six P s 1. PLACE 2. POSTURE 3. PRESENCE 4. PERSONAL RESPONSE 5. PASSAGE 6. PERSEVERANCE. 1. Find a place where you can be alone in silence at a time when you are alert. If you are at your best in the morning, be sure to pray then. Give God your best time. Find a place where you won t be interrupted or distracted. (some of my best prayer as a teenager was while walking the dog) 2. Put yourself in a comfortable posture. For some people, prayer is done best kneeling; for others, it is while sitting; for others it is lying down, standing up, or walking. If you are uncomfortable, it is difficult to pray. 3. Be aware of the presence of God in your midst. Realize that God is present in you and in your life. Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time. He promised to fill us with his Spirit so that God would be with always. As you start to pray, be aware of God s presence. Yes, Lord, I know that you are with me here and now and that you love me greatly. 4. Next, we should make a personal response to that presence. Having become aware of the presence of God in our midst, we should respond and say something like: Yes, Lord, I know that you are with me and I thank you for the blessings you shower upon me. Gratitude and thanksgiving

6 6 is an obvious response to the presence of God. Then you may with to use formal prayers, more spontaneous prayer, read a passage from the Bible for meditation. Spend some time in silence. Conclude with a prayer of thanksgiving. 5. Pick a Passage of Scripture to read and reflect on. It could be one of the readings from daily Mass you can find in the bulletin. It could be a brief passage from one of the gospels or other books of the Bible you are reading. 6. Persevere in prayer. Pray every day even and especially when you don t feel like praying. Our best prayer is often when we say, God I don t feel like praying, but I am going to try because this is your time. Unless we communicate with God our relationship stagnate, wither up, and die, just like a plant that is never watered. THREE MORE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PRAY 1. Story of the Litany for Rain. Pray with an expectation of a positive result. God is infinitely rich and wants to shower his blessings upon us. We need to accept God s love and gifts. Some believe God is too busy. Others believe we are too unimportant for God to pay attention to us. But this is not what the Bible in general and Jesus in particular tell us. Expect to be heard and expect the best. Pray as if you mean it. 2. Pray from your heart. The shortest prayer in the Bible may well be that of Moses when he learns that his sister Miriam has become infected with leprosy. Please, not this. Pray, heal her! he cries out to God from the depths of his

7 7 being. (Numbers 12) Be real before God and God will meet you half way. The letter of James says, Draw close to the Lord and the Lord will draw close to you. 3. Pray with gratitude for the many blessings God has already provided us with. Some people in AA go so far as to write a list every day of the many reasons that they have to be grateful. Doing so will help us pray with conviction and will signal God that we don t take God for granted. HOW GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS Jesus promised in Luke s gospel: Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives, whoever seek, finds; whoever knocks, is admitted. In John s gospel Jesus assured his disciples and assures us that whatever we ask for in his name will be granted. Does God answer our prayers? Most emphatically and certainly and without a doubt YES, YES, YES? Now having said that, I must qualify the answer by saying God doesn t always answer our prayers the way we want God to. What are the answers that God gives to our prayers. 1. God might say Yes and give us what we ask. 2. God might wait awhile before answering our prayer. I heard a rabbi say that we should be truly shocked when God doesn t answer our prayers. Shock is a sign that we really expected to have our prayers answered When our prayers aren t answered we ought to ask ourselves Why? Maybe we haven t been paying attention to God or taking God for granted.

8 8 3. God might say No because God knows what is best for us or because we were asking for something that we shouldn t. For example, God will not help us do well on a test no matter how hard we pray unless we have studied. We shouldn t pray to win a million dollars in a lottery. We shouldn t pray for our sports team to win the game. We should pray that our players play to the best of our ability. 4. God might say No because our prayers are unanswerable. When I was 8 or 9 years old I chipped off part of one of my front teeth. When I realized what that meant, I prayed more fervently than I have ever prayed that my tooth would somehow not be chipped. Prayers after the fact can t be granted. 5. Finally, God sometimes choose to answer our prayers in a way we never expect. Some unknown person wrote this poem: I asked God for strength that I might achieve; I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. Despite myself, my prayers were answered; of all people, I am among the most richly blessed.

9 9 I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn t have time to pray. Problems just tumbled around me, and heavier came each task. Why doesn t God help me? I wondered. God answered, You didn t ask. I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray & bleak; I wondered why God didn t show me. God said, You didn t seek. I tried to come into God s presence; I used all my keys at the lock; God gently and lovingly chided, My child, you did not knock. I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish, that I had to take time to pray.

10 10 Walking Humbly: A Primer of Prayer Three types of prayer: Formal and memorized prayer Spontaneous Prayer Meditation Contemplation or Centering Traditionally Catholics have talked about four attitudes of prayer. We make a PACT to pray to God with one of these four reasons: Petition Adoration Contrition Thanksgiving The Consequences of Prayer Prayer ought to change one s perspective. Prayer gives us insight into our selves and our problems. Prayer makes us more compassionate. Forgiveness is a fourth consequence of prayer. Prayer leads to a healthier self-esteem. The Five P s of Prayer Place Posture Presence Personal Response Perseverance Passage Three More Suggestions on How to Prayer Expect a positive result when you pray. Prayer from your heart.

11 11 Prayer with gratitude. How God Answers our Prayer Yes After a waiting period. No, because we are not praying for good things. No, because we ask the impossible. In a way different than we expect or hope.