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Whenever I have to make a large purchase, I think of the story of Abraham and how nice it would be to have him with me. Somehow he gets God to agree to save Sodom if Abraham can find 10 righteous people. The original quota was 50! So that is a savings of 80%! Of course we don’t want to miss the point of that story and of all our readings today which is simply this: Know how to pray; don’t be afraid to ask God for what you desire. If it is good for us and for others, God will happily give it and do so with a generosity we cannot fathom.
Interestingly enough, Abraham’s back and forth with God does not result in the sparing of the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This wasn’t Abraham’s fault nor was it a case of God being unwilling; there was simply no one left who wished to be saved. And so God’s generosity and Abraham’s petition have no room to work. But the beauty of the type of prayer we see described in the first reading, is that it does not change God, it changes us. Abraham’s experience going to God in this moment, paves the way for him to trust God more and more and become the father of many nations. This prayer of petition, simply put, asking God for stuff, is one of 4 main types of prayer with God. This is the type of prayer most people think of when they hear the word and it is a fundamental and important part of developing a relationship with God. He wants us to ask him for things and we need to tell him what we want and desire. We should not be afraid to show him our heart. But we should always end each payer with trust in his will and wisdom; that he will give us the things which are best for us and others in light of eternal life!
The Catechism defines prayer as the lifting of the mind and heart to God. John Henry Newman says prayer is “cor et cor loquitur” which is Latin for “heart speaking to heart.” St. Teresa of Avila called prayer, “nothing more than sharing between friends”.
How do we look at prayer? Do we think of it in terms of the saints, who saw it as an exercise of friendship with God? Do we pray often about things large and small? Boldly and with confidence? How often do we make it complicated? Or worry about saying the right words? As a result we miss out on the beauty of prayer and see it as a chore or boring obligation!
No matter who we are, our prayer will go through cycles: highs and lows, feast and famine, consolation and desolation. This is normal. St. Theresa of Avila had about 20 years where her prayer was difficult and felt dry. St. Teresa of Calcutta revealed that much of her prayer felt uninspired and unfruitful. What makes our prayer life-changing is not how it feels but how faithful we are to it. We cannot let our feelings decide whether we pray or not.
I don’t know about you, but my prayer is sometimes affected by things going on in the world. Tragedies and natural disasters can make it more difficult to pray, which I am sure the devil wants. The killing of innocent people, the anger and division of politics, and the all-too-common observation of the wicked prospering while the righteous suffer really fill me with anger and make me ask God, “where are you right now?” Is there any hope for our world which is filled with so much hatred and violence? Sometimes the only prayer I can muster is to ask God for the help not to let my own heart become contaminated by hatred for those who have so little regard for the lives of others. I need his help not to become bitter or cynical about the world. Sometimes I just have to sit before God and share with him the nasty feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing. Even this can be prayer as long as it is turned over to God; it doesn’t have to be nice and perfect like some holy card.
Our readings today teach us about the richness and necessity of prayer. Prayer of petition for sure. But we also learn about the other three types of prayer in the Our Father. There is prayer of adoration, where we praise God for all the good he has done and for his beauty and perfection. Nature has a wonderful way of moving our hearts in this direction. This prayer reminds us that God is God and we are not…and that is a very good thing. There is also prayer of reparation, where we tell God we are sorry for our sins and offenses against him and others. This type of prayer is healing for our souls and often leads us to repair the damage of our pride and selfishness against other people. Properly done, prayers of reparation bring peace, joy, and new life to our friendship with God and other people. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving, where we thank God for the blessings in our life, large and small. The more we practice this type of prayer, the more we see God’s hand taking care of us and providing for what we need. It’s almost magical, to be honest with you. If you take a few moments each day to thank God for 3 , 4, or 5 blessings in your day, you will start realizing how close he is to you, guaranteed! And you will be so content and grateful as well!
I want to leave you with a beautiful little meditation on the “Our Father,” a version of which we heard from St. Luke’s gospel.
"I cannot say `our' if I live only for myself. I cannot say `Father' if I do not approach God like a child. I cannot say `who art in heaven' if I am not laying up some treasure there right now. I cannot say `Hallowed be thy name' if I am careless with that name. I cannot say `Thy kingdom come' if I am not working to make it a reality in the here and now. I cannot say `Thy will be done' if I am resentful of that will for me at this moment. I cannot say `on earth as it is in heaven' if I don't look on heaven as my future home. I cannot say `Give us our daily bread' if I am overanxious about tomorrow. I cannot say `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us' if I am waiting to settle a score with someone. I cannot say `Lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately put myself in a place to be tempted. I cannot say `Deliver us from evil' if I am not prepared to pray as though everything depends on God and work as though as everything depends on me."
May we learn these lessons of prayer for our good and the good of the world!
