By Deacon Norbert Gaudet – Courtesy of Last Mountain Times
Prayer is the communication of our heart with God. Anytime we communicate with God and build a relationship with him; we are praying. Jesus prayed all the time whether he was happy, in agony, around people, or alone. He prayed everywhere – on mountains, in sacred places or anywhere he was in his day to day life. I call it “Prayer on the go.” We too can take a moment here and there throughout our day to thank God or ask for help/relief. So why don’t we pray more?
It can’t be because we can’t make time. We can say a prayer anytime, just as Jesus did. Is it because we don’t trust/believe in the power of prayer? Prayer gives us the ability to love and forgive. Is it because life has paralyzed us, and we only resort to prayer in desperation? Is it because we struggle to concentrate as we feel overwhelmed by all of today’s distractions? Alternatively, is it because we think we don’t know how? Do we fail to believe that our particular way of praying, with all its distractions and missteps, is prayer? Remember, there is no wrong way to pray.
If we struggle with praying, we can always follow Jesus’ core teaching on prayer found in Luke 11:1-13. Here one of his disciples asks him how to pray. His core teachings consist of three things. First was the Our Father, also known as the Lord’s prayer. It is direct and straightforward. We need to follow this model of prayer. Focus solely on God first, then on God’s will. Only after you focus on God do you bring your petitions and requests forward. Ask for the need for forgiveness and deliverance. Always pray for your needs and not your wants.
Second, Jesus taught that we need to be persistent. He tells his disciples the parable about the persistent neighbour who asks a friend for bread at midnight. The friend is already in bed and has no desire to disturb his family by opening the door. However, because the neighbour is persistent, the sleeping man gets up and gives him all that he needs. If a neighbour is willing to help us if we are persistent enough, how could God not respond to our persistent requests?
Third, Jesus assures that God hears our prayers. He tells his disciples “Everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds and for everyone who knocks; the door will be opened” (Luke 11:10). We must be persistent in knocking on God’s door, in seeking God and the truth, and in asking for help.
