Oh, this is going to be a good week …Practice Prayer. A long time ago, when I was the parish priest overseeing youth ministry, teenagers would raise questions why we need to go to Mass and pray. I had a brilliant comparison. Some of the youths were in extra-curricular activities like sports, cheerleading and theatre. I would ask them how they were to get better at their activity. Always the answer was practice! In the book, Rebuilt Faith: A Handbook for Skeptical Catholics, Michael White and Tom Corcoran get us reflecting on the words Practice and Prayer. They interconnect to lead us to an intimate relationship with God.
Yes, we have public prayer when we gather together at worship or rosary, but today they emphasize the importance of practicing prayer intimately with God … God and me. It takes practice to get better.
The questions posed today lead us in to the fourth letter of the acronym, STEPS. We are seeing the links between Service, Tithing and Giving, Engagement, and now Practice Prayer:
How do you define prayer?
How would you rank your prayer life on a scale of one to five? Why do you answer as you do? What would help you improve?
When do you pray and where do you pray? How is that time and place working for you?
Personally, I have always found prayer as raw communicating with my Creator. In public worship, the Rites and Rituals are so rich with tradition. To think that so much we do at public worship and prayer goes back to apostolic times is awesome to say the least.
The prayer that Michael White and Tom Corcoran speak about is the “go to your inner room” prayer. For me, it’s often conversational with little formality. It’s unfiltered and raw. God already knows my inner being, but this time is when I must be most candid. On a scale of one to five, I’d probably put myself between three and four. I struggle to be consistent with time and place. Time and place consistency is a challenge I should focus in my practice of prayer.
As they say,”practice makes perfect.”