Prayer as a way of life

For most people who pray, across most religions, prayer takes the form of a plea seeking to resolve everyday problems. It is also an expression of praise motivated by gratitude, although this is less common, as the majority of prayers consist of requests. However, prayer should always be a simple communication, a dialogue, between the person praying and the object of their prayer, usually God. And its aim—the aim of this communication—should likewise be an exchange of experiences and feelings, so that both parties merge in an act which, rather than prayer, we ought to call ‘communion’. A communion of life that incorporates what both the person praying and the object of their prayer bring with them as they enter into this act: life in progress and Life in the absolute sense.

The capacity for reflection and understanding with which God has blessed human beings draws them in this direction rather than the other, for the first impulse—that of asking—is merely the basic conclusion of a creature who feels helpless and therefore seeks help; and the second, that of praise, although more positive, remains at that stage of inferiority and dependence, failing to fully grasp the familiarity offered by understanding God as ‘Father’, as Jesus Christ taught us.

True prayer—that which seeks to make the Cosmos a temple and life itself a prayer—involves acting continually in full communion with Life, which is the sum, the essence, of God and His Creation. That communion arises from an understanding and must be lived with the same naturalness as breathing; and its purpose, both in this very moment and throughout eternity, is none other than the fusion of the Whole with the part, of the Creator with his creatures.

…‘doing God’s will’ is nothing more and nothing less than willingly entering into a project, into plans, which have been laid out for the good of all.

And for such a prayer to have its full meaning (as well as being effective in fulfilling the prayer’s intention), it must be guided by two principles: knowledge’ and ‘respect’, which determine the course of every prayer and the boundaries within which it must operate. This can be clearly understood using the example of a train, a means of transport and communication designed to serve those who need to travel and to link towns and cities. Once a route, a timetable and stops have been established for this training in addition to the specific characteristics of the locomotive, carriages, etc.—it becomes useful to everyone whilst remaining faithful to the rules that have determined its operation. But it would become a disaster if, every day, its timetable stops and the specific configuration of its carriages were to vary, depending on the interests of occasional passengers.

Building on this comparison, we understand that God has, in a similar way, established rules for this world we inhabit and that we, as users, should always adhere to them.

Knowing and respecting this must form the basis of any prayer if it is to have the meaning we intend. The opposite would be to ask for ‘miracles’ – something as absurd as expecting the train to bring forward or delay its departure, change its stops or even its tracks, depending on the interests of each passenger.

The right thing to do, to continue with the example, would be to ask those in charge of the railways to remain faithful to their organization, and for us, as ordinary passengers, to have the wisdom to fit into that system and the courage to carry out any journey, however much the circumstances or events may not turn out as we would wish or expect. Accordingly, ‘doing God’s will’ is nothing more and nothing less than willingly entering into a project, into plans, which have been laid out for the good of all. The opposite comes dangerously close to the tyranny of individual whim, something a good Father cannot condone, however much his most spoilt children might stamp their feet or cry. And that is where prayer comes in: on the one hand, it is ‘communion’; on the other, ‘acceptance’. Communion is union with the God who creates and loves us and seeks intimacy with his creatures, establishing a constant dialogue for which he has equipped us with the necessary tools. And acceptance, which involves fitting perfectly into a life plan that is not merely our own, individual plan, but a collective one; and which, therefore, cannot be realized except within that universal harmony which only God knows and can provide.

Accordingly, living a life that must combine prayer with a life plan shared with others and in accordance with God’s plan, involves merging our wills and plans, our strengths and weaknesses, with the One we know loves and understands us perfectly: the Father who, out of love, created us and invites us to love in the same way, so that all may discover and share in this life which is prayer, within this Temple that is the Cosmos. And, of course, by accepting and respecting that divine plan, which does not propose that we move forward through astonishing miracles, but rather through appropriate and timely help tailored to our real needs (see and reflect on Mt 6:8, 25–34; 7:7–11).

Chema Álvarez, MSC. Spanish Province