Prayer does does not make things easy

Nothing good in life is easy. Good things come with great effort.

This is true of many things, including prayer. If we want to develop a life of prayer, then we need to be willing to put the work into it. In our hubris, however, we don’t think we need prayer. We want to figure things out on our own and do things our way. We don’t think we need God’s grace or wisdom. We live in a fast-paced world that rewards independence. In such an arena, there’s no room for prayer (or for God).

Nevertheless, as believers, we know that we are called beyond our hubris. We are invited to follow a path of humility, and that path begins with prayer. We are beckoned to acknowledge our true spiritual poverty and our authentic need for God. We are led to break from our pride and seek divine assistance that is beyond and above us.

The response to the call of prayer does not simplify or make things easy. The response is just a willingness to get into the ring and start the fight.

As we try to pray, we find various objections in our fallen hearts and in our popular culture. There are many incomplete or erroneous ideas of prayer that weaken our resolve and make us question the importance of praying.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it boldly: “In the battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves and around us erroneous notions of prayer.”

There are some who dismiss prayer as merely a psychological or mental activity. It doesn’t really change anything. It’s just an esoteric path into nothing. The Catechism observes: “Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void.”

And, on the other side, there are some who relegate prayer solely to the external. It’s merely about spoken words or mindless actions. The Catechism also observes: “Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures.”

In addition to this mental and external challenge, there is the very predominant objection that prayer isn’t worth our time. It doesn’t fit into our schedules. The Catechism notes: “Many Christians unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the other things they have to do: They ‘don’t have the time.’”

In response, spiritual wisdom tells us if “you’re too busy to pray, then you’re too busy.” What that means is if we are too busy to pray, then we are pushing ourselves too far, stressing ourselves out, and not giving ourselves the peace we need to flourish.

The objections, however, continue.

There are many who have become discouraged with prayer. They have presumed that prayer means God does what we tell him. They have prayer and not received what they wanted. They “don’t believe in prayer” anymore. Such views of prayer are profoundly incomplete. Prayer is about our union with God. It is about dwelling in his presence and receiving his strength to fight the good fight and run the race well.

Once we begin to understand the full nature of prayer, we can still struggle with discouragement as we find ourselves impatient, restless, and wondering why we can’t simply rest in God.

This level of discouragement occurs because we have enclosed ourselves within our own powers and abilities. In order to pray, we need the help of God. Saint Paul reminds us that we do not know how to pray as we ought. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who prays through us.

By surrendering ourselves and opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit, we can begin to pray and grow in our understanding of prayer. As we mature in this way, we can begin to go deeper into the mystery of prayer, which is the mystery of our union with God.

The Catechism observes: “Those who seek God by prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone.”

As believers, we need to readily avail ourselves of the power of the Holy Spirit and allow him to come into our hearts and teach us how to pray. There is no prayer without the Holy Spirit. There is no fighting the discouragement or objections to prayer without the Holy Spirit.

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