42 They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers. Acts 2:42 (TEV)
89 “Mary has chosen the better part,” we read in the holy Gospel. There she is, drinking in the words of the Master. Apparently idle, she is praying and loving. Afterward, she accompanies Jesus in his preaching through towns and villages. Without prayer, how difficult it is to accompany him!
Truly, God gives daily bread to evil people, even without our prayer. But we pray in this request that He will help us realize this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
We don’t need to pray as much as to see our situations change, as we need to pray to see ourselves changed. (Note the past tense here )
I don’t think we understand the nature of prayer all that well.
We can analyze it, we can teach people the elements, we lead retreats on it, and if we are daring, we might actually ask people how their prayer life is. ( I am not sure that is the right question btw) That doesn’t mean we understand it, it just means that we know about it. We can even say it’s having a chat with God, but even then, we fall short.
But what prayer is? It is living life in Christ, in dialogue with the Father, dependent on the Holy Spirit. We come up with words like fellowship, communion/community, or my preference we live in the most intimate of relationships with him.
That’s why Luther will consistently teach that prayer isn’t about making God do something but realizing He is actively doing that which is for our best, whether it is protecting us from evil, or helping us forgive, or seeing His will be done.
This dynamic of prayer is what St. Josemaria is talking about when he says that without prayer, we cannot follow Jesus, that we don’t recognize that He is guiding our paths, and helping us journey, in peace.
THat’s why the early church made prayer, daily prayer, together, such a critical part of their life. Not out of duty, but it is the natural life when you are in a relationship, an intimate relationship with God. It is simply what we do, like Mary abandoning the housework to just be still and adore the God who came to her, who comes to us.
This time of prayer, this time of hearing from God, and learning to simply entrust everything to Him, not because we have to, but because that is what you do when you are sure you are loved. It is far more than a quick check-in chat, a 5 or 30 or 60-minute briefing on our day. It is lifelong dance, a
This is God at work, this is the God whose love we need to experience, to explore, to have revealed to us. This is the God who we need to be with, listen to, depend upon, And all that happens when we pray…
please, consider sharing a moment or two when you were praying and knew the presence of God was there, comforting you, guiding you, even correcting you…
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 361-363). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.