God Invites Us To Pray

A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

A couple of years ago, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, standing at the window, instructed the Wednesday visitors at St. Peters Square on prayer. He spoke:

“God invites us to pray with insistence not because He does not know what we need, or does not listen to us. On the contrary, He always hears and knows everything about us, with love. In our daily journey, especially in difficulties in the fight against the evil inside and outside us, the Lord is on our side, we fight with Him by our side, and our weapon is prayer, which makes us aware of His presence, His mercy, and also His help. But the fight against evil is hard and long, it requires patience and endurance. … It is a daily battle, but God is our ally, faith in Him is our strength, and prayer is the expression of this faith. Therefore, Jesus assures us of victory, but asks: 'when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?'. If faith is dimmed, prayer is dimmed, and we walk in darkness; we lose our way in our journey through life."

God knows what we need, but we need to pray to God with insistence as a way of uniting us with Him in our battle against evil. "God is our ally," states Pope Francis. We cannot risk to walk in darkness, but together with God we can win this flight against evil. This notion is not new. In numerous Scriptures it is evident that we have always prayed in a bond with God. God's love is reciprocal, in other words, it goes both ways, from Him to us, and from us back to God again. Pope Francis: "If faith is dimmed, prayer is dimmed, and we walk in darkness; we lose our way in our journey through life." The reverse is also true: If faith is firm, prayer increases, and we walk in the light, we will find our way in our journey through life!

I've experienced this again and again. When I have 'off' days, when my faith dries up, then I pray less. When I pray less, I do not think of God often during the day. Those are the days I get into trouble. Big trouble! But on the other hand, if I am devout and respectful, prayer increases, my thoughts go to God more often in meditation, possibly contemplation, and then those days are bright and sunny (an interior reflection) and all will be well. Knowing that this happens and why it happens, I'd think we'd want to do all possible to stay high in faith, frequent in prayer, in thought always with the Lord, because then we cannot go wrong.

Idle thoughts lead one into trouble. Don't let your mind wander out of control. Life in God is a disciplined life. There is one sure way to love God: stop committing sin! If we say that we can't because everyone sins - then we are just not willing to try to do better! Have faith, communicate with God at all times, and sin will be greatly minimized in your life if not disappear completely!

This I believe with all my heart!

Peace and Good!
           Fred Schaeffer, OFS
           bc709 -  rev. August 22, 2023