Have you ever felt that your prayer life is going nowhere? Or, do you want to deepen your prayer, but don’t know how to breathe new life into it? When it comes to prayer, the answer is always Jesus. Not only are we supposed to address our prayers to Jesus, we are also obligated to sit at His feet and learn the art of prayer.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Christ with Martha and Maria, by Henryk Siemiradzki, 1886[/featured-image]
Thankfully, the Church has sorted through Jesus’ teachings on prayer and have given us a handy checklist that helps us diagnose our prayer life and find areas where we need to grow.
1. Conversion of Heart
The Catechism explains:
“2608 From the Sermon on the Mount onwards, Jesus insists on conversion of heart: reconciliation with one’s brother before presenting an offering on the altar, love of enemies, and prayer for persecutors, prayer to the Father in secret, not heaping up empty phrases, prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the heart, purity of heart, and seeking the Kingdom before all else. This filial conversion is entirely directed to the Father.”
In order for our prayer to have the greatest effect, we must pray from a converted heart. As Jesus says elsewhere:
“No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).
2. Faith
Once our heart is converted and focused on God alone, we can focus on praying in faith. This means that we adhere to God’s revelations, even if we do not fully understand them. A sincere faith is vital to prayer as we need to trust that God is not a deceiver, but is the Truth.
Faith is intimately connected to trust. If we do not trust God, how can we pray to Him?
3. Filial Boldness
Building upon our converted heart and firm faith, we are prepared to ask for anything in filial boldness. Jesus confirms that:
“Therefore I say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you” (Mark 11:24).
Jesus even challenges us to have extreme filial boldness, when He said:
“Amen I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe, that whatsoever he says shall be done; it shall be done unto him” (Mark 11:23).
We must be bold when we pray and not be afraid to ask for the impossible. For nothing is impossible for God. However, we can only pray with this type of boldness if we have faith.
4. Fiat – Thy Will Be Done
Connected to the above filial boldness is a disposition of heart that is open to God’s will. Yes, we must be bold in our prayers, but we must also accept everything that comes from the hand of God. This means that when we pray, we can never have a pre-determined answer in our hearts. We can not pray for a new car and be upset when someone offers to drive us to work every day. It may not have been our ideal answer, but that does not matter. All that matters is God’s will.
Very often our prayers are answered in a way that is not what we hoped for, but in the end, it was what God knew to be the best possible scenario.
5. Watchfulness
Jesus continually taught His disciples to be attentive and watchful. The parable of the ten virgins who went out to see the bridegroom and the bride is perfect example of watchful prayer. It means we must be vigilant during prayer, aware of the movements of our heart. This allows us to recognize God’s presence and discern the deceitful tactics of the Enemy. As the Catechism explains:
“2612 In communion with their Master, the disciples’ prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation.”
6. Patience
What would prayer be without patience? We must not lose heart when we pray and give it up because God appears to be silent. Instead, we must pray “without ceasing,” trusting that God has something great in store for us. Patience is certainly a virtue and one that we practice every day. It takes a lifetime to perfect this particular virtue.
7. Humility
Jesus revealed in the following parable the importance of a humble heart in prayer:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican.
I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalts himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbles himself, shall be exalted” (Luke 18-9-14).
We should never become “spiritually pride” at all of the “great works” that we do. In the end, the simple prayer of a humble person is more powerful than someone who prays 10 rosaries out of pride.
The remedy for a prideful heart is praying the Jesus Prayer, in imitation of the publican:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
If we want to pray like Jesus and grow in prayer, let us keep this checklist in mind. Let us be honest with ourselves and rank each of these seven foundations of prayer.
As an exercise, reflect on each of these foundations and rank them on a scale of 1 – 10. It is not prideful to be honest about the state our soul and will be helpful to discern where we need to focus.
Am I truly converted?
Do I have filial boldness?
Have I been patient in prayer?