Prayer: a Key Ingredient in our Relationship with God

The Raising of Jairus's Daughter by William Blake

Wednesday, July 4, we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. That document proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This is a “program of action” (W. Wilson) for all people. Let’s rededicate ourselves to these truths for people here and everywhere.

The Word of God clearly tells us that God created us in his own image and likeness: that we possess the spark of the divine within ourselves.

In the Gospel according to Mark, a Jewish official begs Jesus to heal his dying daughter. Jesus takes the little girl by the hand and heals her. The power of touch! Think about it. With a touch, we tell people: “I love you; I’m sorry; I don’t know what to say.”

Jesus touches us especially in the sacraments—through water, oil, bread, wine—and his grace, his life, goes out to us. Yes, the living Christ touches us with God’s grace, God’s life. And when we touch others in need, we give life, love, understanding, sympathy. Yes, touch can have healing power,

I would like to reflect briefly on prayer: a key ingredient in our own life of faith. Prayer brings to consciousness the presence of God within ourselves, makes us available so that, when God comes knocking at the door of our heart, we are ready to invite him in.

Now there are many methods or pathways. Familiar prayers: the Our Father, Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. Above all, the Eucharist, the perfect prayer of the Church.

And the prayer of praise: the bubbling over of the Spirit within us, taking us out of ourselves and into God’s presence. Francis of Assisi was always praising God. He saw God in brother sun, sister moon, all creatures. Yes, praise recognizes our fundamental relationship: fragile creatures, an awesome creator. The hymn “All Creatures of our God and King” makes clear all are invited to lift their voices in praise to God.

A third form of prayer is to take a passage from Scripture and to meditate upon the meaning. We all have a favorite passage: I am the way, the truth and the life; come to me, all you who find life burdensome. Slowly reflecting brings us into the presence of God.

There are many other forms. The prayer of silence: quietly feel the presence of God within you. The prayer of petition: like Christ, we recognize our absolute dependence on God and pray for our needs and others’. The prayer of suffering: in Gethsemane, on the way to his execution, on the cross, Jesus trusted ever more deeply in his Father’s unconditional love for him.

Almost anything we see or experience can be a prayer. Yes, all creatures and all earthly experiences can be windows into the presence of God who is all around and within us.