Today's readings focus on prayer, prayer not as a monologue, where I tell God what's on my mind and what God already knows, but as a dialogue. A conversation. I ask, and God gives. I seek, and God helps me find. I knock and God opens.
One of my Facebook friends posted something on my wall today. She said, "God is not answering our prayers. And my tears mean nothing to him." It took me quite awhile to respond. Finally I wrote, "That's exactly what our Blessed Mother thought on Calvary."
Of course, no one knows what went though our Blessed Mother's mind that dark Friday afternoon, as she cradled the crucified body of her Son. Her pain must have been tremendous precisely because her love and her faith were tremendous. But perhaps because she was in constant communion with God, this sustained her in her greatest hour of need.
Today's readings ask us to consider not just if we pray, but how we pray. Abraham didn't recite formal prayers to God to spare the citizens of Sodom. He bargained with God like you would bargain in an open market for a basket of figs. God kept his side of the bargain. Unfortunately there were not ten righteous men in all of Sodom, and so the city was destroyed.
In Luke's gospel today, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray and he gives them what we have come to call the Lord's Prayer, prayed by Christians around the world to this day. Of course, the version we pray is not like the one in today's gospel nor is it even like the one in Matthew's. That's the point. Jesus is not giving us the exact words in which to pray. (If he were, we'd be praying in Aramaic.) Rather he gives us the attitude and spirit in which to pray.
One of my favorite stories about prayer concerns a simple grandfather, uneducated and unsophisticated who had stopped coming to church for many years. Then one day he decided it was time to make a fresh start so he went to confession. The priest gave him absolution and, as a penance, asked him to say three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys, and three Glory Bes. There was only one problem. It had been so long since he'd been to church, he forgot how to recite all these prayers. And he was too embarrassed to say anything, let alone admit he couldn't read.
About 30 minutes later the priest came out of the confessional and was surprised to see that grandfather still in church, kneeling in front of the altar, and apparently still praying. Now, the priest knew it shouldn't take so long to say three Our Fathers, three Hail Mary's and three Glory Be's so, out of curiosity he drew closer to see if he could hear the grandfather's prayer. To his surprise and confusion, this is what he heard: "A B C D E F G... the entire alphabet to W X Y Z" and then the old man would start all over again, "A B C D..." After listening to this two times, the priest could not contain his curiosity so he tapped the grandfather on the shoulder and gently asked what he was doing. "Father, I am truly sorry," the old man explained, "But I forgot how to say my prayers. So instead, I thought I'd offer God all the letters of the alphabet many times and let him put the words together whatever way he wants."
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the prayer of that old man went straight to God's ears because it was spoken from the heart. It doesn't matter if we pray in Latin, Korean, English or Swahili, or use fancy sentences and correct grammar or even what words we use, as long as we too pray from the heart.
A Maryknoll missioner in Irian Jaya, which is in eastern Indonesia, made this observation about the people there, many of whom are not Catholic and who still practice native customs, what we might call "superstitions." After watching a fisherman prepare to lower his nets, the priest observed: "The pagan who prays to the wind is closer to God than the Christian who does not pray."
Do we really pray? By that I mean do we do more than simply recite prayers, whether it's the rosary, or Stations of the Cross, or even the Mass? Prayer is like having God's personal phone number. It's nice to have the contact information but if we don't stop and listen, how will we hear God's answer? It would be like speed dialing the same number over and over again then hanging up even before we hear God say hello? We would be spiritually stalking God. Yes, we need to say prayers, but above all we need to stop and listen in silence for God's answer in the deepest recesses of our heart.
It's interesting how in English the word "prayer" has two meanings. The common understanding is words spoken to God; but it also can refer to the one who prays. We are not only supposed to offer prayers, we are supposed to become prayers.
When our every waking moment is spent giving glory and thanks and praise to God, when we beg God's mercy and intercede on behalf of others, when we spend time with the Scriptures and listen with our hearts to God's voice, we become prayers and our life is God's answer.
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