聽 聽 聽 聽 The storm raged; the ship was sinking fast. The Captain called out, 鈥淎nyone here know how to pray?鈥� One man stepped forward. 鈥淎ye, Captain.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淕ood,鈥� said the captain, 鈥測ou pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We鈥檙e one short.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淛esus got up before dawn and went away to a deserted place and prayed鈥� (Mark 1:35).
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Curious that Jesus so frequently went aside to a quiet place and prayed. As God, you would think that he would just know the Father鈥檚 will. But Jesus was human, too. And like we, he struggled with temptation.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In Gethsemane he really needed to talk to the Father. Jesus鈥� closest friends, like Teresa of Lesieux, spent a great deal of time talking with him.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Maybe it is time to rethink our need for prayer. It is a little arrogant of us to think we do not need daily prayer. Even Hamlet said:
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is, and, for my own part,
Look you, I鈥檒l go pray鈥� (IV, v, 130-133).
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Father Brendan McGuire used this analogy: 鈥淛ust because I have a desire to lose 20 pounds, I am not going to lose 20 pounds. In fact, we have plenty of evidence in the world of people who have said that鈥ut never actually did it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥nce you decide, desire converts to a decision. 鈥業 am going to lose 20 pounds!鈥� That decision then necessitates a methodology to get there, a process, then a discipline to apply it. What does that look like? It might be 鈥業 am going to eat less. I am going to exercise more.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat may be your methodology, and then you apply it day after day for about 30 days. We now have the habit of eating less and exercising more, which will mean we will eventually get to our goal鈥� and then we have a virtuous habit. We will continue to eat less and exercise more because it has become a habit. The same is true for prayer.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Prayer requires the same discipline. McGuire says, 鈥淪ome of you have told me, 鈥榃e have grown up just going to Mass on Sunday. That was good enough for me then and it is good enough for me now.鈥� Let me say it again; it wasn鈥檛 good then, and it is not good now! Whatever you were told back then was wrong then and it is wrong now! We all need to pray every day. If Jesus prayed every day, then we ought to do it.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ash Wednesday has Lent us another opportunity. We can decide to pray more this Lent.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Before the discipline comes a process or methodology. Before that process comes a decision. Before that decision comes a desire. We can never do any of that if we do not even have the desire.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This Lent find a deserted place. Listen in the silence. Building a habit of prayer will pay dividends for the rest of your life.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The practise of regular prayer and meditation has added peace to my life. Transcendental Meditation, often engaged in after exercise, brings refreshing rest to restore muscles and mind.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 McGuire says, 鈥淭he development of a prayer habit in our lives, I promise you, will pay dividends for the rest of our lives. If we can develop and really work at this habit of prayer, then later in life it will become a security for us that will radically change our lives.鈥澛�
