I have to say I am embarrassed. I am embarrassed because, as a Catholic School Principal, I just admitted to my staff that I do not feel comfortable with prayer. I am not comfortable because, like anything else, I was not told what to do. Much like school, we tell our children what we want them to learn and the students gain the knowledge that they need to pass a test or quiz. It is how we are trained. And since I was never "taught" how to pray, I have zero confidence in my prayer life.
There are many reasons people do not pray, they do not have faith, nobody ever showed them, nobody ever taught them to do it correctly. You can rest assured, I have used everyone of those excuses and more.
Don't get me wrong, I have the rote prayers down(Glory Be, Hail Mary, Creed). I know them like the back of my hand. To be honest, I probably could not write the prayers down on paper, because they are so rote in my head, that I do not have to think about them. I am talking about the deep, spiritual prayer life with God, that I often hear about. I do not have the skill to sit down and have a conversation with God.
As stated before, I have told my staff that I wish someone would have taught me to pray. I wish someone would have sat down with me and explained the whole idea of having a true relationship with God, via prayer. Instead, my parents have done exactly what I have done to my children, and taught me the rote prayers. The rote prayers are great, but how do we get to that spiritual relationship?
Being a cradle Catholic, I have heard the gospel's over and over and over and over. The only way I am going to hear a gospel for the first time is if they write a new gospel. Guessing that is not going to happen. However, I am amazed at the number of ways a priest can give a homily on the gospels.
So here I sit, a couple of weeks ago, praying before Mass, and asking God for this, that and the other. I am sitting there wondering if what I am doing is correct. I am praying for guidance on how to teach my children to pray so they do not have the same feelings, as an adult, that I am feeling. Well, low and behold, if there was ever a doubt God has conversations with me, it was brought to an end at that Mass.
In the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus, "how do we pray?" Jesus give the answer that becomes "The Lord's Prayer." Wow!!! Here I sit, asking God to help me become a better person of prayer and then he gives me the perfect prayer!! God is GREAT!!!
The thing that is best about this prayer is that it is the perfect prayer. Imagine, God giving us the perfect prayer, coincidence, I don't think so. The "Lords Prayer" is the perfect prayer because it has the four parts of a successful prayer.(wait, there are four parts to the perfect prayer??? This is just what I have been looking for).
The four parts of any prayer should consist of petitions, thanksgiving, forgiveness and adoration. While I might not say "The Lord's Prayer" every time I pray, I can guide my prayers around those four things. Some examples that I have done lately are as follows:
Heavenly Father- Starts by adoring Him and recognizing Him.
Thank you for.....- Listing all the things I am thankful for in my life, or just that day. The most important thing I thank Him for is the death of His Son, Jesus, who died for my sins, so that I can have the opportunity to follow Him and receive forgiveness of my sins.
I want to pray for... Here I list all those that I believe need prayer.
I ask that you help me...This is basically the spot I ask for forgiveness of my sins and to help me overcome the situation that is leading me to sin.
You see, I just prayed the perfect prayer. I accomplished all four task in my prayer. I must say, up until the last couple of weeks, my prayers were all about me, and I knew that it wasn't right. It cannot always be about me and I knew that, but it was better than nothing. Now that I know the four basic, yet important, parts of prayer, my prayer life has changed. It is not about me, it is about the deep, personal conversation with God. Even when I am asking and not always listening, it is about the relationship.
Imagine that, the Bible knew the answer all along. How many more times is God gonna hit me in the head before I just turn to him in the first place.
