Prayer

7  In the “Baltimore Catechism” the definition of prayer is “The lifting of our minds and hearts to God, to adore Him, to thank Him for His benefits, to ask Him forgiveness, and to beg of Him all the graces we need whether for soul or body.” Therefore prayer is the greatest action on earth and is necessary for everyone’s life, but how must we pray? Why? Let us therefore explore these questions in these few paragraphs.

Prayer is essential because it shows God that we actually want His grace! In St Matthew 7:7-11, Our Lord says to the people “Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent?If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? Therefore if you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

In this message, Our Lord is saying that if we ask, we receive and so on, but He also said that we must ask. If we do not pray, none of this will be granted unto us, for God the Father desires us to ask, because we have the free will to do so, and He doesn’t want to force grace upon our souls.

Now, since we must pray, how must we pray? Firstly, Our Lord tells us that we must be confident in our prayers. The amount of grace that God gives us during prayer depends solely on us, that is, how much our hearts are ready to receive, or whether we even doubt the power of God.

After all this, we mustn’t forget about those who can help us in prayer. Our Lady is a good example for this. If we ask her to teach us how to pray, or to help us to pray better, she will do it before you can even make the sign of the cross! She wants us to pray to her Son, because many do not do so anymore, so she will be there day and night.

Now, there are two types of prayer, formal prayer and informal prayer. Formal prayers are the prayers of the Liturgy, the Hail Mary, the Our Father,the Apostles Creed, and such. These prayers are extremely important in our spiritual lives because they have been formed to perfection and have everything we need. Informal prayer is the heart to heart talk with Christ and Our Lady about the things we need, what we worry about and so on. This is also very important because it deepens our relationship with God, answers our questions, and strengthens our Faith. These two types of prayers, if balanced, are sure to sanctify our souls.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori once said “Those who pray are certainly saved, those who do not pray are certainly damned.” How true this is, for if we do not pray, it is as if we never speak or think about our Father. We cannot do anything on our own anyway, so prayer is the easiest way to fix our problems, amend our lives, and especially grow closer to God. Unfortunately, for many people prayer is very difficult, so they usually give up. Those who have difficulty in prayer would find it easier to begin with just speaking with God as if He was their best friend, then start to balance it out with formal prayer, and by doing this your soul will definitely grow.

Let us therefore treasure the gift of prayer, pray often, and thank God for such a great gift!

Alexandra Reis

Alexandra Reis

Alexandra Reis is a 16-year-old cradle Catholic. Her passions consist of learning and writing about the Faith and trying to spread it. She is drawn to the traditional Latin Mass. She is also interested in poetry, art, playing the piano, and acquiring wisdom at a young age. She hopes to become a writer and professional public speaker in the future in order to save souls for the greater glory of God.

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3 thoughts on “Prayer”

  1. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

    Abreast of fresh air from one so young and so needed at this time!

    All 20 of the little Conn. Children are in Jesus’ arms! Blessed be his Name!

    1. Your welcome!!! I’m so glad you liked it!

      As for those poor children, they are definitely in a better place now :). God Bless you!

  2. Pingback: Prayer | cathlick.com

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