This PRAYER QUOTE for August is wonderfully written by Patricia Sanchez as part of Preaching Resources for the past 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time -- Cycle C (pertinent readings: Gen 18:20-32, Col 2: 12-14 and Luke 11:1-13). This homily help is published through Celebration, P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009; you can reach them at the address above, or by the website: www.celebrationpublication.org, or by calling 1-800-333-7373.
Why Pray?
Why do we pray? This question, asked by believers (and non-believers) throughout the centuries, speaks to one of our most essential human needs.
Some argue that if God is omniscient, God already knows all our desires -- so why speak them in prayer? God also knows every human suffering and is aware of every act of violence, injustice, war and hatred, so why do we petition God to help the tragedies of the human condition? God knows the future; therefore, what purpose do we serve by praying about what lies ahead? And God certainly doesn't need our praise, gratitude or repentance, so what good are such prayers?
We pray not for God's sake, but for our own. We pray because voicing our praise, expressing our need and offering our thanks and prayers helps us to know who we are before God and all others. We pray not to inform God of anything but to sensitize our own hearts and minds and souls to the many overtures of God, be they large or small. We pray in order to cultivate a disposition of welcome and trust. We pray to acknowledge that we are not the center of the universe. We pray to surrender ourselves to the Creator, who brought us to life, and to our Redeemer, who has saved us from death.
We need not be tidy or formal in our praying. No one time is more opportune than another, because God always listens. Pray at midnight; pray at dawn. Pray when you are happy and when you are sad. Pray especially when you are mad and fed up. When Abraham (Gen 18:20-32) prayed for the people of Sidon, he didn't kowtow; he dared to barter with God like a merchant trying to make a sale or a lawyer attempting to win a case. Abraham's familiarity with God was rooted in a relationship that he renewed daily in the conversation we call prayer. Prayer is not a monologue but a dialogue, and it must be punctuated by many pauses and silences so that we might be open to hearing words and thoughts other than our own.
Jesus (Luke 11:1-13) knew that his disciples needed to share in the relationship he had with God, so he taught them the prayer that we continue to pray. Simple, honest and profound, Jesus' prayer welcomes us in and establishes our reliance on God, our trust that God forgives, forgets and continues to love and care for us, in spite of ourselves.
We pray because the words we utter in God's presence are the breathing that sustains our lives. We pray because although God is ever present, we must make a conscious effort to center our minds, our hearts and our energies on the nearness of the divine. God is nearer to each of us than our own heartbeat, more precious than our own breath.
Why Pray? Because the day that I cease to pray, I cease to live and to be who I am before God and others.
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