He
has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require
of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God. (Micah 6:8)
Power
of Prayer
The
birthday of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. was recently observed with
great celebration and promoting of courage to overcome injustice in
the world and bring peace. He encouraged us to pray as he did for
God’s will to be done.
His
prayers raise questions about our own prayers — To whom do we pray?
What do we pray about? What do we ask for?
Thomas
Merton taught us the apophatic prayer of sitting in the void, in
darkness, while St. Ignatius Loyola taught us to use our imagination
and fantasize about the gospel (pick a story, image you are in it,
feel what it’s like, notice what Jesus looks like, listen to what
he says to you).
Medieval
Monks taught lectio divina, reading scriptures prayerfully, while
others emphasize the prayer of communal liturgy and hymns. One could
use all of these methods from time to time to feel God’s presence
in different ways.
As
Christians, we should never ask to whom do we pray; God has never
concealed his light from us. He wants us to show justice and to love
kindness and to walk humbly with him.
Many
times we try to make our Christian life far more complicated than it
is. If we strive to be completely obedient in the basics, the more
complex assignments will become clear and our prayers will be
answered.
O
God, give us the intelligence to know your will, give us the courage
to do your will, give us the devotion to love your will. In Jesus’
name we pray. Amen.
Rosy
M. Latimore
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