Let Us Pray... (yes, really!)

Why does praying seem to be such a daunting task?  Why do we struggle to see its overall simplicity, seeing it instead as laborious?  Feeling this way can be really confusing; it can also be an obstacle to a relationship with our Creator.  If you feel this way, then you are not alone.  Many find it difficult to know where to even begin when it comes to praying, or what praying should consist of.  It’s not uncommon for people to feel that the one time per week, or month, or year that they attend religious services is sufficient; they feel that even though they yearn for more, they don’t know where or how to begin.               

Many of us, today, look at prayer as a recitation, a repeating of words created by someone centuries ago in order to ask God for something specific, or as a general thank you for His help.  Over time, the meaning and the importance of prayer have become lost in the recitation and the repetition of these words; words that may initially have been very moving and purposeful, based on the experience of the person that originated them, but that we can’t always relate to in our own time, at least not completely and personally.                

On the one hand, our lives are very different today than they would’ve been fifty, or one hundred or one thousand years ago.  We have different expectations, different socioeconomic factors, different stressors, etc. and, as a result, our perspectives are different.  On the other hand, how our bodies, minds and souls react to these factors and stressors is very much the same. 

At our core, we are still very similar to those who dwelled here on Earth over the millennia.  Even though the various events and details of our lives may be different than what was experienced by past generations, the overall effect is just as profound for us as it was for them.  We still feel the same weight on our shoulders, the same pit in our stomach, the same gnawing anxiety today as they felt back then, albeit for reasons that, when taken at face value, seem as different as night and day. 

So how do we deal with these effects in our time and in the world that currently surrounds - and sometimes seems to stifle - us?  How do we begin to find relief from what burdens us?  The answer is simple - prayer.  Prayer remains the single most important element in our personal relationship with God.  It is how we communicate with Him and, in moments of prayer, how He communicates with us.  While prayer, in and of itself, is not the foundation of our faith, it does build on that foundation and it helps our faith to grow. 

Prayer is both a privilege and an expectation, as God wants to hear from us AND respond to us.  If we’re not able to interact with God, then who are we, really?  We were not given life with the expectation that we would have to make our way on our own, all the while having to wonder if we’re doing the right things in our lives and all the while wondering if we will face an accepting God or a hostile God at the end of what would be a very lonely journey.  We were given life to serve our God, to be His children through Jesus Christ and to journey through our lives, back to the Father from whence we came!  And we are never alone… in any of it.  Jesus is always at our side, as He promised that He would be.  He is never distant, He doesn’t just look down from Heaven and direct things; He is present with each of us.  He dwells in each of us.  He is closer to each of us than anyone or anything else could ever be.

Knowing this, why should prayer be daunting?  Does having a conversation with a friend, sitting across the room, seem daunting?  It shouldn’t.  Jesus is closer to us than that friend in the other chair, ready to listen and to respond.  

Praying is actually simple, and the words we use when we pray should be simple, conversational. After all, we are speaking directly to our constant companion and our best friend.  Simple though it may be, it does require some self-discipline on our part.  It can be too easy to fall victim to the distractions that surround us, distractions that can easily absorb our time.  If we don’t make the effort to set time aside, time to focus on our God, our good intention can easily get lost, and our opportunity missed.

Think about the last time you planned to call or text a parent, a sibling or a friend.  Were you focused enough to immediately pick up your phone, key in the numbers or letters and connect, or did something else get in the way and cause you to put it off?  It can be the same way with prayer.  While it is important to stay in contact with family and friends on a regular basis, it’s even more important to set aside time for prayer, for staying in contact with the one who created us. A case can even be made that having a regularly scheduled time of prayer will actually help us to reassess how we stay in contact with others in our lives and to be more available to them.

Setting time aside for prayer doesn’t mean dropping everything for hours and getting backed-up or bogged down with other responsibilities.  It means taking a few minutes to refocus and to put yourself in the presence of God.  It can take as little as a minute, or it can take as long as you deem appropriate.  We will not be held accountable for having to cut it short, as our God already knows the burdens, obligations and distractions we face in our lives.  He simply wants us to be present with Him, to talk with Him, to listen to Him.

Once we get comfortable with setting time aside for prayer and conversing with our God, we can then start to pray for others more comfortably.  While prayer is a solidifying of our relationship with our Creator, it is also the best possible gift we can give to one another.  Praying for someone means that you care about that person and that you understand that all hope for that person – their struggles, their healing, their recovery, etc. – is in God alone.  In God alone is the power to make lives better; sometimes He does this through the actions of people and at other times He intervenes directly. 

We are all children of God, created out of pure love in His very likeness.  He is present with us at every moment in our lives.  Prayer allows us to be more present with Him!

__PRESENT