The final part of a five-part series on building a life of prayer by by Father Francis Martin, S.S.D.
Once we approach our prayer life from the conviction that God wants to speak to us, then we can address more specifically the different parts of how we relate to God in prayer. Now there are basically four things that need to take place as we relate to God each day. First of all, we need to praise God, adore Him, and thank Him for all the mighty works He has done to redeem us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise is essential for prayer. Without praise, we remain stuck on an earthly plane, thinking largely about our own problems and needs. When we praise God, we begin to enter His world and His thoughts and desires for us. If you want, you can talk out loud to God—this helps. God doesn’t need it but we do. Sometimes to praise the Lord out loud, to talk out loud to God, it’s amazing when you hear yourself say it yourself. “Lord, I love you and I give you my whole life.” And there’s nobody around but the Lord. As we praise God and enter His world, we begin to see more clearly the ways that we sin and fall short of God’s plan for our lives. Thus, the second part of a good prayer life is repentance—examining our conscience and repenting to the Lord for our sins. The fruit of this rhythm of praise and repentance is that we begin to experience a peace in being in the Lord’s presence. We are then ready to enter into the third part of a good prayer life—listening to the Lord, asking Him questions. Here is where reading of the Bible, especially the Gospels and Letters of the New Testament comes into the picture. Read the Scriptures with an active mind, knowing that God is speaking to you through the Word you read. Ask questions of the Lord to explain the things you don’t understand. Listen and write down what comes to your mind. Compare these reflections with the faith of the Church. Out of this active listening, we begin to receive revelation about the great mysteries of our faith—why the Son of God entered our world, why he died for us, his desire to pour out the Holy Spirit into our hearts and change our lives. Finally, the fourth part of prayer is to present to the Lord our needs—interceding for family and friends, the Church and the world, and our own specific needs.
The fruit of a living prayer life is that each of us would really know personally that God is our Father. God has no grandchildren. He wants all of His people to know Him and relate to Him personally as “Abba.” God wants to be in direct contact with every one of His children, so that each of them hear from Him themselves. This is exactly why Jesus taught us to pray by calling on God as “Abba.” We do need teachers and spiritual fathers and mothers in the Church to help us live in the fullness of God’s light and love. But if we don’t know God for ourselves, then we are missing out on the heart of our own inheritance as Christians.
Prayer is communication with God. When we pray we are truly in the very presence of the God and Father “who knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matt 6:8). Prayer is lifting our hearts and minds to Almighty God, entering into His Kingdom, and receiving His blessings and power. Let us then follow the call of the Lord Jesus who has told us, “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you… If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks Him” (Matt 7:7–11).
Father Francis Martin lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is Professor of Biblical Studies at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C.
Practical Tips for Prayer
Before You Pray:
- Choose a time and place to seek the face of God each day in prayer.
- Ask a family member or friend to help keep you accountable.
When You Pray:
- Praise and worship God. Lift your heart, mind and voice to the Lord. You are in the presence of the King.
- Examine your conscience. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you your sins. Repent to the Lord and re-dedicate your life to him. For serious sins, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- Listen to the Lord. Take a Scripture passage, read it slowly, asking the Holy Spirit to open your mind to God’s wisdom and plan. Ask questions of the Lord about what you don’t understand. Listen and write down what the Lord shows you as you ponder His word. What resolutions or changes does the Lord want to work in you through your hearing of His word?
Intercede. Present your petitions to the Lord, for family, friends, the Church, the world and yourself.
(c) The California Mission