Why Prayer?

The New Testament of the Bible quotes St. Peter as having said "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)  Isn't it obvious in today’s world that many, if not most people, have almost complete disregard for the cunning attacks of the Devil? (They don’t even acknowledge his existence!)

Every waking moment of every day in our lives he is relentlessly on the attack striving to capture the souls of mankind. He does not profile or care who you are, what you do, or who you are related to. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, famous or unknown. If you have a relationship with Christ, our Lord, he works even harder to exploit your weaknesses and separate you from our Lord's saving Grace. For this reason we must pray for our religious leaders who have made a commitment to serve their fellow man.

Consider the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. All of these vices are believed to give birth to other forms of immoralities.  This is a formidable arsenal for which the Devil is able to attack many an unsuspecting soul.

So, how do we combat against such an evil and powerful opponent?

For all the evil that there in the world, there is also, a powerful goodness superior to these vices that mankind is able to call upon. Because we have the freedom to choose we separate ourselves from all other creatures.

Consider how the Devil distracts us in our daily activities: he has become so effective in his methods, and his tricks, that many of us do not even notice his influence.

So how do we overcome his assault(s)?

May I recommend that you first and foremost:

(1.) turn your thoughts and mind to prayer.

You can recite from the heart, or you can repeat formal prayers you have been taught from your life’s experiences. What is important is that you train your mind to block out all distractions and confusion. Have you noticed how you must turn your full attention to the Lord when praying to Him? You cannot simply spit out a memorized prayer to Him without losing track of where you are in your thoughts.Everytrhing else stops, and becomes irrelevant.

Find a quiet place where you can go to the Lord giving your mind, emotions, and very being a chance to relax and reflect. All Christian denominations have excellent prayer sources available, some of them being the prayers composed by the Saints of the Church, or the reading of scripture as another excellent source. Here you are able to delve into prayerful records discovering the depth of consciousness many have with our Lord. Noise pollution is one of the greatest distractions of the Devil, and as you submit yourself to prayer you train your mind to block out noise and distractions. Science has shown that prayer helps calm your nerves and lower your anxiety. Many people bow their heads, and close their eyes in order to reconcile with the Lord. Prayer is wisdom, and you will become wiser as you train your mind through regular prayer. Feel free to offer prayer to our Lord by simply talking to him and telling him what is on your mind. (He knows, but He wants you to ask Him, and then listen to His answer) 

2.) Pray consistently, and repeatedly. Select a certain time in your daily routine for prayer. Pray with purpose.

For example: I like to wake in the early morning and greet the Lord for bringing me through through night with my prayers. Likewise, I will end my day with prayer evaluating my day: Where did I please the Lord, and where did I fail and disappoint?

3.) You can further make prayer a part of your daily routines. All my digital passwords are a praise to our Lord ( IE “Seek the Lord while He may be found” becomes “stLwHmbf” + 1234 w/special character for a secure password that will stay in your head). Such practices mimic the consul of St. Paul the Apostle to “pray unceasingly” (1Th 5:16~18) which is very achievable.

Just as “Living in the dark, you forget about the light”, (you are moving further away from God) Daily prayer will bring you closer to the light of Christ!

God bless you and may you live purposefully!