Sometimes prayer isn’t so easy. Sometimes it is really easy, especially if things are going well. Meaning that we are not worried about anything, everyone is healthy, the future is bright, we are on good terms with everything, and relationships are good. Maybe it is easier to pray when your political candidate is ahead in the polls?
Yet, it can be hard to pray when we are worried. How about a few suggestions? Why not practice prayer when things are going well? An analogy; the volleyball or football team doesn’t wait until they are in a crisis to figure out how to do things. Rather they practice way ahead of time in anticipation of how things might go. They have a greater chance of winning with a lot of practice, when there is no pressure. One sports person put it this way. “Games are won in the off season.” Could not the same be true of prayer? Praying in good times prepares us to pray when things get tough.
Memorized prayers come in handy during the difficult times when we lose our way talking to Jesus. Some of us were fortunate as children to memorize the Our Father, the Hail Mary and Glory Be, and the Memorare. Some of us practiced and prayed the Rosary with our families, learning the stories about Jesus and our faith. Some of us memorized Acts of Faith, Hope and Love along with the Act of Contrition. Others of us memorized short passages from the Bible that give us comfort in bad times and remind us that in God’s time all will be well. Most of us did both.
Jesus, God, was asked how we should pray, and he gave us the perfect prayer. One of the reasons I like it is that it combines reciting the Bible and praying. Who says that we Catholics don’t quote the Bible?
“Our Father, who art in heave, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever. Amen.”
If we practice this and other prayers and Bible verses when things are going well, we will be better prepared to pray in the not so good times. It is easier if you practice. Remember, “Games are won in the off season.”
“May the Lord bless and keep you. May he let his face shine upon you, be gracious to you and give you his peace.”
