Where to begin in this almost limitless topic about praying? Why not look to Jesus who often went off by Himself to pray and usually by night? His disciples were so attracted by the example of Jesus that they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded by teaching them the “Our Father.”
They learned the need to pray and how to pray because the Order of Deacons was established by the apostles so that they could devote more time to prayer. The reason they gave was :”But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).
Just as Christ’s example led to the apostles developing a habit of praying, likewise the followers of the apostles found their strength in praying. It is recorded about St. Polycsrp, a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, that when he was arrested, he asked his captors for an opportunity to pray. The account of the event reposts that he began to pray while standing and did so for two hours. Some of some involved in his arrest were so impressed by the obvious holiness of Polycarp and the veneration shown him by his followers that they repented of their participation in the arrest and asked to become Christians, too.
The history of the Church is an endless recording of the place of prayer in the lives of its members. When St. Ignatius of Loyola began to share his Spiritual Exercises based on his own profound experience at Manresa near Barcelona, his usual method was to invite people to pray. He sought a change in their lives. If they did not accept his invitation, he moved on to others when he hoped to lead to a reform of life.
I began to understand better why St. Ignatius looked to a person’s willingness to pray is an essential requirement after experiencing an incident at our office which I will never forget. There was a phone call from a man who wanted to see a priest because he said that he was on the verge of committing suicide. I agreed to see him. While waiting for him to arrive, I recalled a similar phone call about a year previously from a man who also was thinking of suicide. The other desperate man told a story of financial need. He assured me that a little help would be repaid as soon as he got his pay check “next week.” He did not return as promised.
When this latest ‘desperate” man arrived I recognized him as the one who had been there before. I did not let on that I remembered him while he told a similar story of personal and financial problems. The urge for suicide seemed to have evaporated from the time of the phone call.
I finally mentioned his previous visit and promise to pay back. He made some sweeping statements about the wealth of the Church. I tried to counsel him on a change in life by seeking a closer relationship with God. There was no response on his part. Remembering the method used by St. Ignatius, I suggested that he do some praying. He got very agitated and soon was on his feet heading for the door. His parting shot as he headed down the stairs was, “I’d rather kiss the devil than submit to Christ.”
Any prayer which makes demands on God is not prayer. There always has to be the condition of the final outcome being God’s decision. He always knows what is best for us. Jesus taught that truth when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will but thine be done,” in praying to His Father.
Much of our praying is asking God for what we need or think we need. That kind of prayer is characterized by petition, request or pleading with our heavenly Father from whom all good things come.
Prayer, too, is the ascent of the mind and heart to God in a spiritual union. We can compare this kind of prayer to human friendship in which there is a union of minds and hearts. One is not concerned with getting something from the other but in a mutual sharing of self by just being together.
Another way to look on prayer is a speaking with God. Prayer is not a one way conversation in which you do all the talking but an exchange between self and God.
Perhaps the simplest description of prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God. Even wanting to pray is a praye. At times one might feel that it is impossible to pray although you would like to be able to pray. Don’t fret because the wanting is praying. Thanks be to God.