Living a life of prayer

A Christian is a man or woman of Easter. Soon we will be celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. Jesus is alive. And so, he is with and beside each and every one of us. That is why every Christian should be a man or woman of prayer. Whatever parish group, movement or congregation we belong to, whatever our position within the Church, we all have a duty to pray. All the saints were men and women of prayer. Jesus himself, the Son of God, would spend whole nights in solitude, speaking to his Father. If the world is as it is today, if our Church is in need of renewal, it is because there is a glaring lack of true men and women of prayer. Here we are not referring to those who recite certain prayers, but to people whose whole life is prayer. This is what emerges from the encyclical *Noveo millennio ineunte* by Saint Pope John Paul II. Unfortunately, many Christians do not feel particularly concerned by this subject. For them, prayer no longer holds great value. It is enough simply to be active. Some claim that their work is a form of prayer. Others say they do not know how to pray, so what is the point? Still others say that prayer is not worthwhile: they pray and do not receive what they ask for. So they give up on prayer. There are also those who object that prayer is an escape from the realities of the world. Finally, there are those who claim to lack time. They can find time for everything except for God, except for prayer. God is the master of time and the master of our lives. Yet we often refuse to give him even a little of our time.

No one can claim to serve God without leading a good life of prayer. We would be what Pope Francis condemns: spiritual bureaucrats. We are involved in numerous activities, sometimes even religious ones. We do not listen enough, and we encounter many failures and disappointments, even in evangelisation. The tragedy of the Church today is that many Christians no longer pray enough. There is too much activism. Fortunately, there are those who strive to live out their vocation. I know many who inspire me when it comes to prayer.

Indira Gandhi used to say that ‘one can fast for the body, but one cannot fast for the soul’. If one does, one weakens oneself. ‘Apart from me, you can do nothing,’ says Jesus (Jn 15:5). One cannot do without prayer and lead a normal Christian life, for one withers away. Personally, when I do not pray, I feel as though I am ill. I feel suffocated and I seek God as ‘a deer pants for streams of water’ (Ps 42:2). God created us to commune and converse with him (Vatican II, GS 19). Anyone who does not pray, therefore, is not even a true human being. Moreover, other people may consider themselves experts on prayer. They may say to themselves: ‘I’ve been praying for a long time. I’ve already read dozens of books and listened to dozens of sermons on prayer’. With such thoughts, one is no longer open to growing in prayer. We pray to know God and to love him. Yet we will always have room for improvement. ‘For at present our knowledge is partial’ (1 Cor 13:12). This calls on all of us to keep making fresh progress in prayer, to be ready to constantly begin anew a better life of prayer. Easter calls us to pray, to pray a great deal and to pray well. To learn to pray, we need to be in the right school. Many Christians have prayer books which they read and pray from throughout the day. That is all very well, but it is not enough. St Paul says that when we are young, we feed on milk, but once we are adults, we eat solid food. When a child learns to speak, we make them repeat words and, later on, we let them express their own thoughts. That is how prayer works. Perhaps we relied heavily on written prayers at first, but now we must also (in addition) formulate our own prayers. Say what we think. Otherwise, we risk merely reading aloud or repeating words without truly praying. St Thérèse of Lisieux said, ‘When I pray, I simply tell Jesus what I’m thinking.’ If we learn to speak with God heart to heart, it will then be very beneficial for us to say the Rosary and to offer other spoken or communal prayers.

Another misconception about prayer is the belief that ‘praying’ simply means ‘asking’. This is why many people only pray when they are facing difficulties. They make so many promises to God. But once the problem is solved, they forget about Him and neglect Him. It is true that Jesus tells us to ask so that we may receive, but prayer is not merely about asking. Let us therefore make a much greater effort to carve out time in our busy schedules so that we may grow in prayer. Let us not forget to set aside time for vocal prayer as well. In this way, we will be able to serve our God better and please him. Is this not the great challenge of Easter?

Henri Bayemi