The Nature of Prayer
And How We Use It
In our modern world of science, we're sometimes tempted to think
of prayer, petition, and merit as a mathematic equation. "Pray
about X for Y number of hours, fasting for W days, and X will be
answered." We've come to expect an immediate answer to our
problems...like a simple program that has occasional bug, but
generally works well with a few clicks of the mouse.
This kind of error is one that puts limits on God. We end up
thinking of Him as a reaction to us, as opposed to us being a
creation of His. But it also limits us, because we close our
minds to the nature of God...and the nature of prayer.
Prayer can stretch and bend as much as God allows it. It's not a
method of payment...even though our minds naturally tend to
understand it as one. It's a simple line of communication. One
open to God. And the benefit of this line isn't at all like a
line of credit. It's not there for us to receive a service or
good. It's there to strengthen our relationship with God.
Of course that doesn't mean we can't use it to ask for
something. But without a proper understanding of prayer, it
won't be nearly as fruitful. For example, I had a friend who
once mentioned that he was afraid to add
something unimportant
to his list of intentions because he feared it would take some
of the pie from more urgent matters. As if the fruitfulness of
prayer could be graphed.
It reminded me of when my wife and I were waiting for our second
child. We were afraid that love for the second one would take
away some of the love that our first child received. Our
understanding of love was that it could be divided. The way our
time and resources were divided.
But by the time our sixth child arrived, we had long ago stopped
worrying about such nonsense. By then, we knew that we could
love each one of them more than anything else. Because love does
not divide...it multiplies. Another child doesn't mean less love
for one person, it means more love for everyone.
And so it is with our prayer...because our prayers strengthen
our relationship with God. So when we add to our intentions, it
only adds to our prayer. And where earthly fathers might be
forced to divide his time between children, our Heavenly Father
isn't.
About the author:
Written by Eric Engel, chief editor of The Catholic Letter at
http://thecatholicletter.com
Written by: Eric Engel
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