“Could you pray for me?”
“I’ll prayerfully consider what you said.”
“I’ll pray for you.”
“You haven’t got a prayer.”
“Well, that was an answered prayer!”
We tend to use the word “prayer” in many different ways as we go about our daily lives. Often, it is part of our vocabulary as people of faith without a second thought. Even the prayers themselves, especially the common ones, become second nature. We can recite them without actively thinking about the words – they are part of our routine. At Mass, after a while, we can get so used to saying the same prayers every week, or every day, that it becomes so ingrained in us that it begins to lack intention. We know the words so well that they almost speak themselves.
That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. There are forms of prayer where the recitation of the words is more like a backdrop against which our internal disposition reaches out to our heavenly Father. It is a spiritual meditation that allows us to be more fully aware of God’s presence.
But quite often, our routine recitation of prayers is unfortunately far from spiritual meditation; it is often just a “going with the flow.” We experience this at Mass when, on a random Sunday, the celebrant chooses to recite the Apostle’s Creed instead of the Nicene Creed. The voices no longer harmonize as usual – little hesitations are heard. It sounds a bit messy.
And sometimes messy is a good thing. When we have to pay attention to the words we pray, we are more intentional. We are more focused. We are more engaged in our prayer.
And that is where we want to be. Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God. It is an act by which we enter into awareness of a loving communion with God. And we should do that with our entire being. We should be fully engaged in this communion – because we know God is. And a loving relationship can only be fruitful if both parties give it their all.
Developing a fruitful prayer life is a life-long endeavour. It takes time. God is patient – he never tires. He is faithful, even when we falter in our faithfulness. He offers reconciliation when we stray from the path.
So let us not only be persistent in our prayers – let us be persistent in our desire to learn to pray more intentionally, with our whole mind and heart. There is nothing greater than a loving communion with God.