In the past few days, I couldn’t help but notice that the last few readings have been all about prayer. Reading about the way Jesus prayed and how it relates to how we are called to pray (in almsgiving, praise, supplications, etc), I couldn’t help but begin to reflect: We are all called to pray, and yes, there are many ways to pray, but how does it all connect? The way we use our gifts and all our prayers in the end, should be for the edification of the Church. So, how do our prayers do this?
“Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”
– St. Therese of Lisieux
The way we pray,
the things we pray for,
the people we pray for,
the saints we pray with,
the devotions we have,
the verbal language we pray in…
NONE ARE THE SAME!
The only thing I know I can relate to with everyone who prays is that when I pray, I pray wholeheartedly out of love. IF PRAYER IS A SURGE OF THE HEART, and AN OUTPOUR OF THE HEART then the language of prayer must be love. Then if the language of prayer is love, that must be how we are all connected, and that must be why it edifies the Church. It is a constant and changing growth, that although so different, our prayers can bring unity through love.
However, I had a feeling in my heart that there was more that the Lord wanted to reveal to me. As I continued to reflect, I began to see it… prayer is built on love, BUT love builds relationships. Therefore, I can say that prayer not only edifies our Church, but also our relationship with the Lord, as well as our relationships with those in our lives. It’s like dating…
The more we more I talk and spend time with Him, the more intimate our relationship becomes.
And out of this intimacy, grows an acceptance and an inexplicable understanding that only my heart can utter and only God can comprehend. Whether I say it or not, He knows the deepest desires of my heart. And I know He is taking care of them all so intimately… And once again, just like dating, having a the “perfect” boyfriend, He will always find ways to affirm me and grant me my desires in the most intimate ways.
*HEART EXPOSURE*
One of my greatest prayers is that God will bring a deeper unity within my family. Yes, we have movie nights, board game nights, or just “chill” nights, but I wanted more. I greatly desired to one day bring my intimate love with God into the family through mission. And slowly, He began to grant them…
My family worshipped together after my Mom’s 50th Birthday…
We pray the Rosary together…
My sister and I pray the Angelus and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together whenever we’re both home…
I am no longer the only person in the family keeping a prayer journal…
And yesterday, our version of late-night “fun” turned into an hour in Adoration together…
And all this has only happened within the past 2 months! Bit by bit, He is turning my family from water into wine… And each time these things happened, I never expected it. I think that’s what prayer is… it is love that becomes the core of the relationship between myself and God that no one else can comprehend… It is the core of a relationship that holds no expectations, and gives so selflessly to one another with no conditions or limitations. It builds a relationship full of love and full of trust, even when it doesn’t make sense. Prayer allows me to take that “leap of faith”, day after day even when it isn’t always comfortable.
Prayer allows me to journey with others and pray with them for the mission that He has set for me… to bring His love to others so that they may also have the courage to take that leap of faith, only to fall right into His arms. Prayer… in its only comprehensible language throughout the world, is love.