We usually hear about the necessity to pray, especially during this time of Lent. But, what is prayer? Prayer simply is to talk to God. Think about God as your best friend. We usually want to talk to our friends to tell them our concerns, problems, goals, success, and so on. If God is our best friend, we should tell Him everything about ourselves. For instance, Saint Teresa of Avila refers to the early stages of prayer as “frequent solitary conversation with Him who, as we know, loves us.” God loves us very much, and He desires to talk to us. For this reason, we need to try to pray always, anytime, anywhere. Jesus frequently says to us in the Gospel that all of us need to pray always (cf. Lk. 18:18).
There are different forms of prayer:
Blessing or adoration prayer: We can bless people or things, wishing for them all of God’s gifts. For example, we can bless our children before they go to sleep or bless our meals before eating. More over, we can bless God in response to God’s blessing for us. One way to bless or adore God is going to the Blessed Sacrament and to worship Him because we recognize that we cannot do anything without Him.
Petition prayer: We ask God for our necessities; e.g. we ask God for our health or economic situation. We express to God our concerns and trust in God’s providence. We believe that God will help us always. We need a spirit of humility in this prayer, recognizing that without God we cannot do anything.
Intercession prayer: We ask God for the necessities for someone else. For instance, we pray for a brother, our mother, our father, or a friend who has a problem or hard situation in their lives. Also, we ask Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or one of the saints to intercede for us or for somebody else before God, the Father.
Thanksgiving prayer: We recognize that God has done wonderful things in our lives and say thanks to Him. For example, we say thanks to God for your job, your children, or your life. The Eucharist is a thanksgiving prayer. Next time that we go to the Mass, do not forget to say thanks to God.
These are some ways to pray. We can always pray using common prayers, such as the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, the Holy Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and so on. These prayers are very important in the Church because they are part of the tradition of the Church, and when we pray these prayers, we spiritually join with the rest of the community.
Let us pray always, at all times, in any place. God is always there to listen to us because He is our best friend who loves us very much.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
