When I was really young my father taught me one of the most valuable skills that a parent can teach their child; the art and skill of praying. He didn’t just tell me how to pray he showed me how to pray. The dedication that he displayed in the last years of his life by getting up at 4:00 AM to begin his prayers, which was continued throughout the day, was a witness to myself and to the various people who saw my father fingering his rosary beads in church. My father knew that “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God ” (CCC 2590). My father wanted to make sure that he raised up his young son’s heart and mind to God. “The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. The family is the “domestic church” where God’s children learn to pray “as the Church” and to persevere in prayer. (CCC 2685)
I wish that today I persevered a little more habitually in prayer. Developing a habit of prayer is an ever-going battle. This is teaching of the various saints through out history. Prayer is a battle. If prayer is a battle, it means there is a war going on. It is a spiritual battle that takes place with in one’s heart and soul. When we receive baptism we are made new creatures in Christ who are spiritually equipped to partake in the divine nature. (CCC 1265) Although our spirits have been reborn, our physical bodies still suffer the consequences of original sin which is called ‘concupiscence’. Our spiritual nature redeemed by Christ struggles against the physical nature that has been wounded by original sin. This is what causes a battle with the spirit who wants to pray and the carnal body which may not want to pray.
The battle of prayer is felt strongly by people who kneel to pray only to feel that they are repeating recitative words to empty space. If there is a God who hears you, why does he not talk back to you when you talk to him? What good does it do ,to perform a purely psychological activity when your mind is as blank as the air your talking to? A person who pines to hear God’s voice may say, “Why does God allow me to drink this cup of dry bitter loneliness?”
These are some of the objections that cause one to think that prayer is of no special value to set aside time for. (CCC 2726-2728) This makes the devil very pleased for “the tempter does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God.” (CCC 2725)
It is best to remember that our fallen nature is not the only thing warring against our soul. “For we are not contending against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12) There is a fallen angel named Lucifer who wants to make sure we don’t lift our hearts and mind up to God. He wants us to stay drenched in the sweat of sin, because sin produces death, and he wants us to die. We pray in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, for God to deliver us from evil. The result of evil is caused when we turn from God and embrace sin. Sin causes us to be separated from God and this is what the Devil wants. “The ‘spiritual battle‘ of the Christian is inseparable from the battle of prayer.” (CCC 2725)
The flesh and the devil, not to mention the world at large will try to distract us from that encounter with God in prayer. This is why the Jesus through the church encourages His people to be vigilant and to have sobriety of heart when it comes to prayer. God does not ask us to do something that we can not do or that he has not done himself. Jesus was constantly praying and asking his heavenly Father for strength to carry on in his mission of proclaiming the good news. Jesus knew that he needed constant contact with God and that prayer was the way to accomplish this. Jesus put his complete trust in God the father and expected him to hear his prayer, even when it looked as if he wasn’t listening. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Mt 26:39)
Sometimes we can get discouraged because God does not take the cup of suffering away from us and we fall into a bitter state of mind. If our children asks us for a serpent instead of a fish, should we give them the serpent because they really want it? Do we as children of God, trust that God will give us what we need, when we need it? “Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from god what you ask him; for he desired to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer.” (CCC 2737) Prayer is coming into contact with God as His children. Asking for things is good, but it is not the only reason children should seek out the company of their parents. God is not our servant who is supposed to give us everything our passions desire us to have. He is a father who gives us what is most beneficial for our souls.
The bible tells us that it is always possible to pray, all day long. “It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop,… while buying or selling,… or even while cooking.“ (CCC 2743) It is possible to pray all day long for as we know that praying is lifting one’s heart and mind up to God and not just the mere recitation of words in a written prayer, as important as that is to have. The ability to pray always is made possible by the Holy Spirit who is praying within us. God never asks us to do something without providing the means to do it and when it comes to prayer that means is the Holy Spirit. (CCC 2726) There is not one person who ever prays alone. The holy spirit is always praying with you.
It is important to pray always because prayer is medicine for the soul and helps block out the deadly disease of sin. Spiritual obstacles will challenge us in praying, but God exhorts us to pray regardless because he knows how much we need to be in his presence to survive in this fallen world. Not only does he want us to pray for our own good, but He wants us to do it for his pleasure because he is ‘Our Father’, and any good father wants to spend time with his children. Thus we can be assured that he will provide the strength we need in order to do what he asks. Teach others to pray well, and you will be helping raise hearts and mind to God.
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