HOW TO PRAY
The Nature of Prayer
PRAYER is a communing with God. It is sweet converse held between the soul and its Maker, whether by means of words or thoughts only. It is a lifting of our minds and hearts to the loving and almighty Father Who made us, in order to praise and adore Him for all His greatness and goodness, to thank Him for the unbounded and numberless benefits we have received from Him, to petition His bounty for the many favors we need and to ask His pardon for our offenses. As a child goes to its father to express its filial love and devotion and to obtain the satisfaction of its wants, as a friend talks to a friend, so in prayer the pious soul speaks to God and communes with its Creator.
The Kinds of Prayer
THERE are two general kinds of prayer, mental and vocal. The first consists in thought only, as when we think reverently of God, of His eternity, immensity, power, goodness, mercy, and the like; or whenever our mind dwells with pious reflection on divine things, such as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, the Blessed Virgin or the saints, the future state of souls, heaven, purgatory, and the life to come. The contemplation of God, of His attributes, or of any divine truths, which arouses pious affections or occasions good resolutions, comes under the head of mental prayer. As we can reflect in our own way and with sentiments of love on the persons of our friends and relatives who are far away, as we can think of their qualities of mind and soul, of all they have done or been to us, so in our minds alone, without the use of words, we can think affectionately and interestedly of God and of divine truths; and this is what is meant by mental prayer. No special method or system is required for this act of religion. Neither is it necessary to single out for our meditation any particular divine subject. Rather we should dwell on those mysteries which appeal to us most, and from contemplation of which we derive most spiritual fruit. Doubtless the life of our divine Saviour is the most attractive and fruitful subject of our pious thoughts, since it is the easiest to dwell on and the most universal in its appeal.
Vocal prayer adds to mental prayer the use of words, or external expression of our thoughts. Its usefulness lies in the fact that it helps the mind to fix and hold attention, that it reinforces our thoughts thus increasing fervor and devotion, and that it joins the homage of the body to that of the soul. Here again, for private prayer, no special form is required, no particular words or expressions are necessary, although the most beautiful vocal prayers are those which have been handed down to us from our Lord, the Holy Scriptures and the Church.
The Benefits of Prayer
FROM its very nature we can understand how rich in benefits is prayer. It honors God and helps us both in soul and body. We are God’s children, and as a child honors its father by speaking reverently to him, by manifesting its love for him, by showing that it depends upon him for its needs and by begging forgiveness of offenses committed, so do we in these various ways give honor to God through prayer. Moreover, by this holy exercise we obtain for ourselves all we need both spiritually and temporally; we are strengthened against temptation and our natural weaknesses; our life is ennobled and filled with virtues and we are better fitted for heaven. In the words of St. Lawrence Justinian, prayer “pleases God, gets what it asks, overcomes enemies, changes man.” Rightly, then, has it been called incense ascending before the throne of God, or a golden key which unlocks for us the treasures of heaven.
The Necessity of Prayer
GOD has not merely counseled, but has commanded us to have recourse to prayer: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke xviii. 1); “Ask, and it shall be given you” (Matt. vii. 7). Again, we are dependent creatures, and as such are bound to render honor and gratitude to the Author of our being. We are frail creatures, subject to all kinds of infirmities and unable to do anything meritorious of eternal life without God’s grace. Since, therefore, God has decreed to give His special help only to those who seek it, prayer becomes a necessity, if we are to save our souls. “He who prays,” says St. Alphonsus, “will certainly be saved; he who does not, will certainly be damned.”
The Simplicity of Prayer
PEOPLE often find it difficult to pray because they have an exaggerated notion of prayer, not really understanding what it means and erroneously believing that it consists in very lofty thoughts, which must be expressed in correspondingly elevated words and sentences; whereas the very opposite is the truth. How simple are the Our Father and the Hail Mary! How unaffected the thoughts and the words of the centurion, the leper, the blind man, and others mentioned in the Gospel, who sought help from our Lord and were heard!
Neither is it necessary for a prayer to be long to be perfect; it need not be said in any particular place or at any special time; nor need it be said kneeling, or standing. We may turn our hearts to God at all times, in all places, and in any posture of body, whether we be in the street or in the church, at home or abroad; and this is not only prayer, but devout prayer.
How to Pray Well
PRAYER means simple, loving converse between the soul and God, as between a child and its father, yet it is quite obvious that certain dispositions of soul are indispensable to this holy exercise. The Sacred Scriptures admonish us, in the first place, to prepare ourselves: “Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth God” (Ecclus. xviii. 23). This preparation is not difficult, consisting simply in humility, sorrow for sin, a wish to improve our lives, confidence in God and His mercy and freedom from hatred of our neighbor. During prayer the chief things required are: a realization of the presence of God, attention to what we are saying, sincerity and fervor. If, while praying, we are purposely or consciously distracted we become like those irreligious worshipers, of whom our Lord said: “This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. xv. 8). Finally, for good prayer it is necessary that we pray with entire submission to the will of our heavenly Father who knows what is best for us, and with perseverance, which means that we should continue to implore God’s help and grace as long as we live. Christ the Lord has said: “We ought always to pray” (Luke xviii. 1). Our prayers will be greatly enhanced in value and efficacy, if we add to them works of charity and mortification.
To Whom We Should Pray
PRAYER should primarily be directed to God in the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but since the fruitfulness of our supplications depends solely on the merits of Christ, our Redeemer and Advocate with the Father, we should offer them in His Name. Thereby they acquire the weight and influence which make them pleasing to the Father. It is also useful to invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the saints, who are God’s special friends, and as such enjoy not only great power with the Almighty, but are deeply interested in our welfare and we address our prayers to them requesting their intercession with God in our behalf for favors both temporal and spiritual.
For What We Should Pray
THAT most perfect of prayers, the Our Father, contains all the things for which we should pray, and also indicates the order of importance according to which our requests should be made. Therefore, in the first of the seven petitions which constitute this the best of prayers we say, “Hallowed be Thy Name,” thus asking that God be acknowledged and glorified and praised throughout the earth. In the second petition we say, “Thy kingdom come,” that is, may we one day possess the kingdom of heaven, which God has prepared for us. And since this great kingdom can only be entered and enjoyed by those who do God’s will here on earth, we say in the third petition, “Thy will be done,” begging that we may be enabled at all times to keep His commandments. In the fourth petition we ask for our daily bread, that is, we beg of God those temporal and spiritual necessities without which we can sustain neither the life of our bodies nor that of our souls.
Thus far in the Lord’s Prayer we have been seeking good things. Next we ask to be preserved from evils of soul and body, imploring deliverance from our trespasses and sins which would exclude us from the kingdom of God. We then pray for victory over temptation which would hinder us from doing God’s will. In concluding this beautiful prayer, we ask to be delivered from all those evils which might imperil our spiritual or temporal life, such as sudden death, famine, war, pestilence and the like.
For Whom We Should Pray
BY the use of the word “our” in the Lord’s Prayer it is clear that God wishes us to pray not only for ourselves, but for others, and therefore it is also our duty to offer supplications for all mankind, imploring for them first spiritual, then temporal benefits. In a special manner, however, we are bound to pray for our relatives, pastors, friends and benefactors, for our country and its rulers, for the just and the faithful departed, for enemies and sinners.
We should not omit offering frequent prayers of thanksgiving for the numerous and weighty blessings which God continually bestows upon us and on the whole human race, and thanking Him particularly for the crowns of victory and glory with which He has adorned the Blessed Virgin and the saints. Thanksgiving and petition are, indeed, the two principal parts of prayer, the former being quite as necessary as the latter. In fact, if we are not grateful for God’s benefits, how may we expect that He will heed our petitions? The one, therefore, is indispensable to the other.
Conclusion
LET us with all confidence have recourse to prayer, being assured, as St. Bernard says, that “God will grant what we ask or something better.” In seeking the aid of men we often are disappointed, either because they are unable to give what we request, or because they are unwilling to help us. Not so with God, Who is both almighty and all good. Moreover, we have the solemn promise of Christ confirmed by His oath, that God is always ready to hear and answer us: “Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it you” (John xvi. 23). Our Lord is our advocate with the Father; hence when, with piety and perseverance, we ask for anything that is necessary for our salvation, it is impossible not to be heard. “Let us go, therefore, with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid” (Heb. iv. 16).