Revitalising Your Prayer Life

‘Whoever abides in me, and I in them, bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5). All our good deeds have one foundation: friendship with God. ‘Man’s greatest dignity lies in communion with God’ (Vatican II, GS, 19). Why do we so often fail to live out the Word of God as we ought? Because our lives are disrupted by a dysfunction that borders on an illness: we lack a firm foundation. The example of the pole vault shows that if the pole has even a small crack, it will snap, risking a serious accident.

When we are overwhelmed by sadness, when we fail to live out our state of life and our vocation properly, it is because we lack a firm foundation. That foundation is our friendship with Jesus; it is prayer. ‘Without me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5). Why do we not always bear as much fruit as is expected of us? Some are even false witnesses, wolves in sheep’s clothing. It is because of a lack of union with Jesus. ‘Without me you can do nothing’; this means ‘Without me you can do nothing good’. There is often a temptation within our groups to believe that practical actions alone are enough to make us good Christians. Yet, ‘Without love, I am nothing’ (1 Cor 13). This love for Jesus is founded on prayer. ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain’ (Ps 127).

It would be good to underpin our actions with prayer. The example of Saint Paul illustrates this: ‘There, kneeling on the beach, we prayed’ (Acts 21:5). Why do we not make enough of an effort to set aside time for our personal prayer? If, on a rare occasion, circumstances in the morning have prevented us from praying properly, we should make up for it during the day. Many Christians no longer pray in the morning, have no intimate prayer life at all because social media keeps them unduly occupied, or have reduced their prayer to just a few minutes. Some have replaced it with other forms of devotion. There are those whose prayer time consists mainly of daydreaming, rambling thoughts and distractions. Many find it difficult to remain calm whilst praying. ‘The branches that do not bear fruit are cut off, burnt and thrown into the fire’ (Jn 15:5–6).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: ‘We must not wait until we have time to pray. We must make time to pray.’ When the Word of God group first began, we used to share many of the fruits of our prayer. We would sometimes go for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to places that required walking long distances (about 10 km) on foot, due to a lack of regular transport. Are we still as fervent today? It is prayer that forms the foundation of love for God, the foundation of evangelisation. The strength of a spiritual life depends on the strength of one’s prayer. ‘I will pour out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplication’ (Zech 12:10). “A soul cannot claim to be in the image of Jesus unless it is a soul of prayer. The form matters little, but the substance is indispensable” (Bishop Gray). ‘From the break of day the wise man sets his heart on keeping watch before the Lord who created him, and he prays in the presence of the Most High’ (Sirach 39:6). ‘My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples. A temple of God, a place of prayer’ (Isaiah 56:7). Above all else, a man or woman of prayer has God as their reward. The greatest benefit of this attitude is that prayer leads to eternal life. Yet we do not pray for personal gain, but out of love for God. St Teresa of Ávila said: ‘God does not like to be pestered with many words. He likes us to speak to him frankly.’ Let us speak frankly to Jesus throughout each day this month.

Henri Bayemi