In the words of St. Therese of Lisieux, prayer is “a surge of the heart … a simple look turned toward heaven … a cry of recognition and of love.”[1] Prayer is when we commune with God. Prayer is when we bless, adore, praise, and thank God, when we petition Him for our needs or the needs of others, in joy or pain, in words or in silence, with sincerity of heart. We all know that we should pray; but how important is prayer?
Prayer is breathing
There is an old story about a young man who went to an elderly monk seeking wisdom. He said to the monk, “Father, what is prayer?” The old monk looked at him, then took him by the scruff of his neck and plunged his head into a nearby rain barrel. Surprised, the young man stood up, gasping for breath. Then the monk plunged his head underwater again! When he came up, he was barely able to catch a breath again before the monk plunged him under for the third time. Finally, the monk released the startled young man, soaking wet and a little shocked. Then the elderly, wise monk said to him, “When you want to pray as much as you just wanted to breathe, you will understand that what air is to the lungs, prayer is to the soul.”
Prayer is immensely important. Prayer is life for the soul. Lack of prayer is deadly for the soul. But for many of us, prayer doesn’t seem like it needs to be that much of a priority. It may feel like just one more thing to get done—we do it if we don’t run out of time. However, a lack of proper attention to prayer can leave our faith immature and weak, and will eventually destroy us. If during a whole day we do not pray at all, it is a sin.[2] If we fail to pray over a period of time, we will become prone to fall into worse sins. We will lose the taste for spiritual things and for works of divine love. It won’t be too long before we fall into mortal sin and lose the state of grace. Then we are in danger of losing the gift of eternal life![3]
But if we do pray, and pray daily, we are embarking upon the way of the Christian spiritual life. Prayer is the heart of the spiritual life; and for the Christian, the spiritual life is the true life! Prayer is part of the very logic of our union with God in Jesus.[4] Saint Paul said as much in his letter to the Colossians: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4). The goal of the spiritual life is to grow into greater intimacy and union with God, the source of life, so that when the Son of God returns in glory, we will be ready to share that divine life with Him forever. This is absolutely impossible without daily prayer. We need to “set our minds on things that are above.”
Pray Constantly
How often should we pray? If prayer is so essential to our life in Jesus Christ, it would seem that we ought to pray often. This is true, but the fuller truth is even more radical than this: we ought gradually to learn how to “pray constantly” (1 Thess 5:17; see Eph 6:18). By setting aside regular times of prayer, especially in the morning and at night, and by pausing to turn our minds and hearts to God at various times throughout the day, we can gradually develop the habit of communing with God at all times. Eventually, a wordless communion with God can “spill over” into every moment of the day and into all of our daily activities, even when we cannot raise our minds to God intentionally.
The path to this kind of prayer is a path of maturing love, and blossoms peacefully, often over a long period of time, in the expanding freedom of love. It is the gradual response of love to love. It is God “wooing” us as a lover woos his beloved. Jesus calls us forward: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt 11:28-30). “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love” (Jn 15:9).
As you move forward through this life, growing in intimate communion with Jesus, you progressively become more able, like the saints, to reflect the loving face of God. In the work of evangelization, this is of incalculable value. The most important thing, then, is that you begin the journey. There are many great Catholic books and resources to help you along the way.[5] There are good priests and other mature Catholic disciples available to help guide you. Begin the journey now, or “begin again.” Begin, and do not ever stop!
[1] Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul, quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec. 2559.
[2] As people who claim to have given over their lives in service to the One True God, how can we avoid sinful hypocrisy if we fail to raise our hearts and minds to God even once during the course of a day?
[3] See Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec. 2744.
[4] See Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec. 2745.
[5] The fourth part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on “Christian Prayer” is an excellent resource.