Prayer in Our Lives

am sure that most of us pray at various times. Some of us pray more than others, but we all pray, whether it is by reciting the Rosary, or by saying grace before meal, or just talking to God about what is going in our life. Unfortunately, for many of us, prayer isn't a regular and conscious part of our daily schedule. We don't realize how important it is and thus, we do not take it seriously.

In this reflection, I would like to discuss about what prayer means to me, and the importance of prayer in my life. For many of us, praying is seen as asking God for things. We ask for health when we get sick; we ask God to help us on an important exam; we may even ask God to help us win the lottery. Indeed, this is an important form of prayer. Everyday, I find myself saying petitions to God. I ask for the healing of my own illness and the illness of people I know. I ask for safety of people I know who are traveling. When I read about disasters in different parts of the world, I ask God to come to the aid of the victims. Making petitions to God is a natural part of praying. Whether it is for myself or for others, praying this way helps me to be aware of my weaknesses, of my own neediness as well as the weakness and neediness of those around me. I realize that I cannot do everything by myself and I need God's help.

The most troubling issues for many of us is that many of our petitions don't seem to get answered. But I think the one thing we don't realize is that God does answer all our prayers. It's just that his answer may not be the one that we want to hear. The most important thing, however, is to continue to present to God the legitimate needs in our life and we trust that God knows what is in our best interest. A lot of times, what we perceive to be the best for us at the moment turns out not to be so at all. Only on hindsight do we realize that something that we wanted before was exactly what we shouldn't have.

Presenting our needs to God is an important part of prayer. Jesus himself taught us to present our needs in the "Our Father." But indeed, there is more to praying than asking. Praying is us lifting our soul up to God and be in communion with God. I think that we all have our own images of God. Some of us see God as Father or Mother. Others see God as an intimate friend or lover. Whatever our images of God, it is necessary that we form a relationship between God and us. Imagine a friendship in which one person refuses to speak to the other and share what is going on in his life. That would not be much of a friendship. Friendship is not a one-way affair in which one side tries to reach out to the other only to have the other person completely ignoring the gesture. In friendship, there is equality, a giving and receiving. We give our heart, our trust, our openness, and we receive a heart, a trust, an openness. For myself, it is important that I develop on my friendship with Jesus because Jesus has already declared that I am his friend. As he says, "I no longer call you servants... Instead, I call you friends for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 14:15) As I strive to have good communication with my friends, with my family, and with my teachers, I also strive to have good communication with God.

So what does communication mean to me? In my relationship with my friends, I call them regularly. We talk about things in our lives. I take interest in the things my friends tell me and they also take interest in the things I tell them. I ask for their advice and listen to and trust the things they have to say to me. Sometimes I get angry at them because I misunderstood something that they did or said. But when I am far from them, I miss being around them and look forward to the next time I can see them. In many ways, this is the way between me and God. Throughout the day, I find myself turning to God and telling him things that others probably would consider nonsense. But I know that being my friend, God understands me and is willing to listen to me with patience. And yes, I do get angry with God. There have been many times in my life when I just don't understand why certain things happen to me. During those times, I question God's love and care for me. And I complain and yell and cry to God. But being an understanding friend, it seems that God always listens to the things I have to say and comfort me in my low times.

But praying is more than just talking to God, however. Because praying is communication, it means that sometimes I talk and other times I listen. For me, it is much more difficult to listen than to talk. It is easy to talk about the things in my life and to vent my frustrations, but it is not so easy to listen to what others have to say. It is the same way with God. Many times, I sit in silence trying to listen to what God is saying to me, but I find my mind wandering to other things - what I had for dinner, what movie I am going to see later, who I am going to call on the phone after this. But I realize that in order to be a good friend or a good person for others to have a relationship with, I have to learn how to listen and be attentive to the thoughts of others. As I grow up, I have come to realize that listening to God is just as important as talking to God. And when I sit and listen, I am praying in a very special way because I am in tune with the thoughts of God. Many times, I find that God is saying extremely important things to me that if I did not take the time to be silent, I would have completely missed it. It seems to make perfect sense that this would happen since we ask for God's guidance all the time, but if we don't be quiet to listen to the advice, then what good is it to ask for guidance?

There are so many things we can say about prayer. But I think in the end, prayer is about our journey with God. Prayer flows from our faith, belief and trust that Jesus is living with and in us. He is present in our joys and pains, in our crises, in our work, and in our leisure activities. He is with us when we go to bed, as we sleep, and as we awaken. Prayer is a way for us to recognize this intimate relationship with Jesus and to carry on this intimate relationship. We grow in friendship and trust with God. Sometimes, it is a extremely wonderful experience. Other times, it is so difficult that we want to completely give up. But if we keep trying and do not give up, the friendship will grow and we will find an unbreakable bond between us and God. I believe that this is my goal for praying - to form an attitude of inner peace and a way of life. I hope that through prayer, I will be able to trust that in all the dangers and difficulties that overwhelm me in my daily life, Jesus will be there, watching over me, guiding me, and holding me.