Teach us How to Pray
Talk about a touchy subject. Prayer is, for some, a conversation with God; for others, it's pure contemplation of God, and no words are necessary.
It seems like such a subjective area - how can any one person tell another person how they should be having this conversation with God, or contemplating Him?
I'll avoid stepping on anyone's toes by simpling throwing out some facts and ideas - you put the puzzle together.
There are two kinds of prayer, traditionally speaking: vocal and mental. Here are basic definitions of each:
Vocal: prayers spoken with the lips, using a set text or formula. The Rosary, the Our Father, the Morning Offering, Grace Before Meals - these are all examples of vocal prayers. Note: a vocal prayer need not actual be spoken out loud in order to qualify as a "vocal prayer." I can mentally "think" my way through the Our Father, and it would still be vocal prayer.
Mental: spontaneous conversation with God, not according to a pre-set format or formula; a contemplation of God that may or may not actually involve thoughts and words directed to Him. Note: mental prayer can be spoken out loud and still qualify as "mental prayer."
Ultimately, all prayer is "a lifting of the heart and mind to God."
The saints teach us that vocal prayer is the lesser of the two kinds of prayer, and is meant to help lead us to mental prayer.
This makes an awful lot of sense.
How many times have you sat down to pray and been utterly stumped for words? You may start out well, but even the best of us can only go for maybe 3-5 minutes before we run out of things to say. Then what?
Or worse, we start to repeat ourselves every day, saying basically the same thing. Not that there's anything wrong with repitition, but if you're going to go that route, you might as well use pre-written prayers that at least have the benefit of being well-crafted and arranged to touch on all the necessities of prayer.
That is the nice thing about vocal prayers. They have a direction - they know where they're going, and they will get you there. You certainly won't end up filling out your 5 minutes with a lot of long pauses, "ums," "ahs," "hmms," and so on.
And don't think that pre-written prayers are worth less in God's eyes. When you want to praise God in song, what do you do? You reach for a pre-written song, right? Why isn't that "vain repitition?" Because, presumably, you're putting your heart into it, really thinking about the text, and making it truly your own thoughts and wishes.
Same goes with vocal prayers. Apply yourself to them, and they can be extremely effective.
Mental prayer is a different story. A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that mental prayer has to be a constant conversation - which translates into, "I emit a stream-of-consciousness that I aim in God's general direction."
Well, my friend, if you're talking non-stop, how is He ever going to get a word in? And that is why you're praying, isn't it? To have a conversation, and not a monologue?
Enter meditation - the highest form of prayer. Meditation, also known as contemplation, is when you transcend written prayers and even stream-of-consciousness thoughts, and simply enter into silent adoration.
I'll give you a practical example. The Rosary is a perfect example of a vocal prayer that leads easily into mental prayer; you may begin with the pre-cast words, but you are encouraged to meditate upon the subjects of the mysteries. When your mind finally lands on one, it is entirely appropriate to stop reciting the vocal prayers and simply contemplate - one saint said this was like a bee who finds the right flower, and so he stops his busy buzzing and lands for a while.
Imagine the third Joyful Mystery, the Birth of Our Lord. As you pray the Hail Marys, you are thinking of the birth. You close your eyes and place yourself in Bethlehem, at the manger. Imagine Mary placing Him in the manger. Why not ask her if you can hold Him for a few moments? So you do ... you pick Him up and absorb the staggering meaning of this moment: God the Eternal Creator and Sustainer of Life is now a baby in your arms. You place your finger in His hand, and like all babies do, He instinctively grips it.
Simply amazing.
You feel drawn to talk to Him ... He's just a baby, but He is God after all, so it would be right to pray to Him now; to speak to this baby in your arms and tell Him just how astounding it is, this Incarnation; to thank Him for stooping to such depths; to touch His tiny fingers and try to make an act of faith - "these fingers really did create the moon, sun, and stars."
Of course, by now you've forgotten to say the Hail Marys. But that was the point - to go from vocal prayer to meditation. You don't even have to talk, you can just observe; just hold Him and think of how truly mind-boggling this is, how worthy of adoration and contemplation.
Inevitably, things will enter into your mind as you contemplate Him in this way. You may think of His infant-like innocence, and remember how un-innocent you are. You may marvel at His humility in being made a small baby, and remember that it was your sins (maybe you can remember some specific sins from today?) that made this humiliation necessary.
As you recall these things, you almost can't help but make some good resolutions; I will treat my wife better; I will stop polluting my mind with harmful books and TV shows; I will pray more; and so on.
And as long as you're making those resolutions, you may as well address yourself to this tiny baby in your arms and say, something like, "Holy infant Jesus, please give me the grace to obey you; I'm sorry for my sins; never let me offend you again."
As you feel yourself approaching a suitable time to end your meditation, you can hold Him close to your face and kiss Him gently on the cheek - a true act of adoration if there ever was one.
You carefully hand Him back to His mother and thank her for giving you a few moments alone with Him (you see? A good meditation always includes a nod of the head to the Blessed Mother), and then you graciously make your exit.
The whole thing may take 15-20 minutes, or more, or less, depending on how much time you have to give to this exercise - there's no need to force it to last longer than it naturally does, and no need to cut it shorter than you must.
In that 15-20 minutes, how much have you said? Very little. You've escaped the stream-of-consciousness gabbing that you may be so accustomed to (it does tire you out, doesn't it - having to be that creative?), and yet you have prayed better in this 15-20 minutes than you could have if you'd monologued for 2 hours straight, or prayed through a whole stack of written prayers.
This is the goal of prayer: meditation, contemplation, and adoration, which almost always result in mental acts of worship, confession, and resolution.
Not so hard, is it?
Now open the Gospel books. There are hundreds of such scenes that you can step into at any moment. The birth of Christ is only one of many. Here are a few more suggestions:
The Agony in the Garden
The Feeding of the 5,000
The Temptation of Christ
The Flight into Egypt
The Crucifixion
The Last Supper
The Baptism of Jesus
St. Peter's Denial
Jesus Healing the Blind Man by the Pool
Jesus on the Emmaus Road
And many, many more ... kinda brings a new perspective to bible reading, doesn't it? This is the point of reading Scripture as well - to let it lead you into meditation.
It's a big world to explore ... what are you waiting for?
It seems like such a subjective area - how can any one person tell another person how they should be having this conversation with God, or contemplating Him?
I'll avoid stepping on anyone's toes by simpling throwing out some facts and ideas - you put the puzzle together.
There are two kinds of prayer, traditionally speaking: vocal and mental. Here are basic definitions of each:
Vocal: prayers spoken with the lips, using a set text or formula. The Rosary, the Our Father, the Morning Offering, Grace Before Meals - these are all examples of vocal prayers. Note: a vocal prayer need not actual be spoken out loud in order to qualify as a "vocal prayer." I can mentally "think" my way through the Our Father, and it would still be vocal prayer.
Mental: spontaneous conversation with God, not according to a pre-set format or formula; a contemplation of God that may or may not actually involve thoughts and words directed to Him. Note: mental prayer can be spoken out loud and still qualify as "mental prayer."
Ultimately, all prayer is "a lifting of the heart and mind to God."
The saints teach us that vocal prayer is the lesser of the two kinds of prayer, and is meant to help lead us to mental prayer.
This makes an awful lot of sense.
How many times have you sat down to pray and been utterly stumped for words? You may start out well, but even the best of us can only go for maybe 3-5 minutes before we run out of things to say. Then what?
Or worse, we start to repeat ourselves every day, saying basically the same thing. Not that there's anything wrong with repitition, but if you're going to go that route, you might as well use pre-written prayers that at least have the benefit of being well-crafted and arranged to touch on all the necessities of prayer.
That is the nice thing about vocal prayers. They have a direction - they know where they're going, and they will get you there. You certainly won't end up filling out your 5 minutes with a lot of long pauses, "ums," "ahs," "hmms," and so on.
And don't think that pre-written prayers are worth less in God's eyes. When you want to praise God in song, what do you do? You reach for a pre-written song, right? Why isn't that "vain repitition?" Because, presumably, you're putting your heart into it, really thinking about the text, and making it truly your own thoughts and wishes.
Same goes with vocal prayers. Apply yourself to them, and they can be extremely effective.
Mental prayer is a different story. A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that mental prayer has to be a constant conversation - which translates into, "I emit a stream-of-consciousness that I aim in God's general direction."
Well, my friend, if you're talking non-stop, how is He ever going to get a word in? And that is why you're praying, isn't it? To have a conversation, and not a monologue?
Enter meditation - the highest form of prayer. Meditation, also known as contemplation, is when you transcend written prayers and even stream-of-consciousness thoughts, and simply enter into silent adoration.
I'll give you a practical example. The Rosary is a perfect example of a vocal prayer that leads easily into mental prayer; you may begin with the pre-cast words, but you are encouraged to meditate upon the subjects of the mysteries. When your mind finally lands on one, it is entirely appropriate to stop reciting the vocal prayers and simply contemplate - one saint said this was like a bee who finds the right flower, and so he stops his busy buzzing and lands for a while.
Imagine the third Joyful Mystery, the Birth of Our Lord. As you pray the Hail Marys, you are thinking of the birth. You close your eyes and place yourself in Bethlehem, at the manger. Imagine Mary placing Him in the manger. Why not ask her if you can hold Him for a few moments? So you do ... you pick Him up and absorb the staggering meaning of this moment: God the Eternal Creator and Sustainer of Life is now a baby in your arms. You place your finger in His hand, and like all babies do, He instinctively grips it.
Simply amazing.
You feel drawn to talk to Him ... He's just a baby, but He is God after all, so it would be right to pray to Him now; to speak to this baby in your arms and tell Him just how astounding it is, this Incarnation; to thank Him for stooping to such depths; to touch His tiny fingers and try to make an act of faith - "these fingers really did create the moon, sun, and stars."
Of course, by now you've forgotten to say the Hail Marys. But that was the point - to go from vocal prayer to meditation. You don't even have to talk, you can just observe; just hold Him and think of how truly mind-boggling this is, how worthy of adoration and contemplation.
Inevitably, things will enter into your mind as you contemplate Him in this way. You may think of His infant-like innocence, and remember how un-innocent you are. You may marvel at His humility in being made a small baby, and remember that it was your sins (maybe you can remember some specific sins from today?) that made this humiliation necessary.
As you recall these things, you almost can't help but make some good resolutions; I will treat my wife better; I will stop polluting my mind with harmful books and TV shows; I will pray more; and so on.
And as long as you're making those resolutions, you may as well address yourself to this tiny baby in your arms and say, something like, "Holy infant Jesus, please give me the grace to obey you; I'm sorry for my sins; never let me offend you again."
As you feel yourself approaching a suitable time to end your meditation, you can hold Him close to your face and kiss Him gently on the cheek - a true act of adoration if there ever was one.
You carefully hand Him back to His mother and thank her for giving you a few moments alone with Him (you see? A good meditation always includes a nod of the head to the Blessed Mother), and then you graciously make your exit.
The whole thing may take 15-20 minutes, or more, or less, depending on how much time you have to give to this exercise - there's no need to force it to last longer than it naturally does, and no need to cut it shorter than you must.
In that 15-20 minutes, how much have you said? Very little. You've escaped the stream-of-consciousness gabbing that you may be so accustomed to (it does tire you out, doesn't it - having to be that creative?), and yet you have prayed better in this 15-20 minutes than you could have if you'd monologued for 2 hours straight, or prayed through a whole stack of written prayers.
This is the goal of prayer: meditation, contemplation, and adoration, which almost always result in mental acts of worship, confession, and resolution.
Not so hard, is it?
Now open the Gospel books. There are hundreds of such scenes that you can step into at any moment. The birth of Christ is only one of many. Here are a few more suggestions:
The Agony in the Garden
The Feeding of the 5,000
The Temptation of Christ
The Flight into Egypt
The Crucifixion
The Last Supper
The Baptism of Jesus
St. Peter's Denial
Jesus Healing the Blind Man by the Pool
Jesus on the Emmaus Road
And many, many more ... kinda brings a new perspective to bible reading, doesn't it? This is the point of reading Scripture as well - to let it lead you into meditation.
It's a big world to explore ... what are you waiting for?
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