Prayer - part 1

A recent conversation with a friend centered around a request for prayers.  It is sometimes disconcerting to be asked to pray.  I find that I generally have one of three responses:  1 - Overwhelemd/honored.  It is a little intimidating to have someone request your prayers for a situation.  2 - Disbelief.  If they really knew me, they wouldn't ask me to pray.  What could I possibly accomplish?  3 - Initial enthusiasm/agreement, and then forgetting their request.  I would compare this to the way we may respond to to the generic inquiry of 'How are you?' and our subsequent 'Fine.'  Our polite niceties usually fail to actually connect to the other person, which can be the case when we are approached to pray for something.  We agree, because that is the expected response, but do we go any deeper?  Do we actually follow through?

As I have journeyed in my faith life, I still experience all three of these thought processes.  As I'm preparing for my trip to the Holy Land, I have experienced the feeling of a great gift when someone asks me to pray for them or their intention.  This doesn't come from a sense of superiority, but rather a realization that because of our unity and communion through Jesus Christ, we are all connected.  As it states in Romans 12:4-5, "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."  The prayers of all members become my prayer, and vice versa.

Similarly, doubt and disbelief creep in as well.  If asked for prayers, I may doubt my role and call to be Christ present to those in my life.  I do not know God's plan, but I can be an instrument of God's love.  My sinfulness can be a reminder that we all need mercy.  Usually, when I doubt my own worth in the eyes of God, God uses that as an opportunity to give me perspective.  Perhaps I have had a rough day, where nothing has gone right.  My default reaction may be grumpiness or negativity.  Yet, if I hear about a tragedy or a serious situation facing someone, I am reminded that my woes are small potatoes.  It is also through my weakness and doubt that I can be more easily reminded of God's greatness.  So, even when I struggle, good can happen.  2 Corinthians 12:10 tell us, "Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong."  It is also easy to fall into the trap of believing in our own power, or lack thereof.  For example, if I believe that my sinfulness negates my ability to pray or be a conduit of God, then I have, in essence, made my agenda more important than God's and I have effectively stopped God from working through me.  Suddenly, my sinful nature has become more powerful than God?  I don't think so!  Of course, it is easier and sometimes feels safer to put God at arm's length or limit God in our small thinking.  Sadly, we miss the opportunity to live Christ.  

Finally, the semi-forgetful response.  Just as it is ingrained in us to respond, 'Fine,' to the generic, 'How are you?' so too can we give our assent to pray, and then fail to follow-through.  It can be easy to make the knee-jerk response and promptly forget.  We may have good intentions, or we may not even think about what is being asked.  Either way, this is an opportunity to wake up and be more fully present in life, both to ourselves and the people we encounter.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king.  The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them."  (CCC, 783).  Thus, we are not to sit idly by or wait for someone else to step forward.  We are called to action through our faith.  Praying for one another is one facet of our action.  Make no mistake, we are called, much like the parable of the two sons.  In Matthew 21, we hear the father ask both of his sons to go work in the vineyard.  The first son says no initially, but later goes and does as his father asked. The second son says yes, but doesn't act.  Our yes doesn't produce results unless we add in action.

More to follow . . . Prayer - part 2