Improving Our Prayer

How do we best prepare for prayer?

Success in any undertaking is difficult when we are undernourished. Just as creation tells us to eat of fruits, vegetables or animals or we will physically die, so Our Lord tells us to eat His Flesh and Blood, or we shall spiritually die. So nourished by the communion that is his Body and Blood, is the best environment for prayer.

What is at the heart of the mystery of Prayer?

At the heart of Prayer is the mystery of God's Will and our will, which can stand in contradiction to one another. It is only when these two wills converge, by our trust in God's Will that we find happiness. This is the key that unlocks success in Prayer. God's Will is in fact, His Holy Temple, as stated in Psalm 84:

1. How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O Lord God, my King.
My heart and flesh cry for Your grace;
my soul faints with yearning.

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, O God,
and whose strength is in their Lord!
They have set their hearts on the pilgrimage;
set their path upon Your Word.

2. Even as the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow finds a nest —
so my place is near my God and King:
at Your altar will I rest.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, look upon my soul,
and know that I am true.
For You, my God, are my sun and shield:
Blessed are those who trust in You!

Why Should We Place Our Prayer in the hands of Mary? 

  While Jesus could have come to us directly, without an intermediary, He chose to come us through Mary, as we learn from the facts of the Bible, and was subject to her. And while the old Garden of Eden was closed by a Cherub with a flaming sword, so that Man could no longer discourse with God, Mary, the new Eden and the new Ark of the Covenant, was opened by the Holy Spirit, where Our Lord dwelt for 9 months, and was subject to her for 30 years. Mary is the unique creation in that she is the daughter of God the Father, Mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit. No creature can share in the Divine life as she does.

  Because we are imperfect, our prayer, in this life, will always be imperfect; but prayer placed in the hands of Mary, becomes as perfect as God's creation can be. Thus our prayer becomes Mary's. To Jesus, through Mary. 

Why Adoration?

Normally, when we think of prayer, we think of the Prayer of Petition, but there is also the Prayers of Praise, Thanksgiving and Adoration. In our prayers, we speak to God, but it is in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and reception of Our Lord, that we can more easily hear what God says to us. It is there, that we can learn His will for us, and receive the strength to accept this Will: Thy Will be done. 

Ask for Help!

Most of us don't spend that much time in prayer;  Be humble enough to ask others to help us to pursue our intentions.  We can reach out to the Church, the Saints and our friends, living and deceased.

Take The Prayer challenge!

Present a personal or public problem to Our Lord. Beginners might start with something small, from which confidence and Faith can be built.

Review your results.

If the results are not as expected: 

1. Did we present the problem, rather than demanding a specific solution?

2. Did we get the right intercessor (Our Lady, St. Joseph for selling houses, St Anthony for finding things, St Jude for impossible causes, or even a close friend).

3. Were we humble enough to repeat our prayers, as in a novena?

4. Have we sought true contrition for our sins?

5. Are we looking for a result that contradicts God's Law or Will?

6. Do we look at our hearts, rather than our lips, as does Our Lord? What is our real prayer objective? We may ask for wealth to give us freedom, but God may grant us poverty to give us freedom. We may ask for health for happiness, but He may grant sickness as a path to happiness.

7. Did we interfere in the response to our prayer, by trying to also do things our way? God doesn't need to help those, who help themselves;     He only help those who trust Him.

8. As we placed the matter confidently in Our Lord and Lady's hands, did we pray with Thankfulness for the result, whatever it is?

 Test

If we work at putting these 8 elements in place, answers to our prayers can come more quickly, than slowly. 

All problems are resolved in prayer!

"Jesus, I trust in thee"