A World of Prayer

by Merlin

"Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."

We live in a fast, changing world, yet we must realize that we have to stop awhile and think of where we are heading for. How often do we hear complaints? Unnumbered, millions of problems and worries are faced by the present generation of men and women. You will more likely see people wearing a frown or tear - stained eyes than one with a smile upon beaming face. People are too preoccupied thinking of solutions to these.

Their intelligent minds have come up with impressive and great ideas, but all to no avail. Day in and day out, there will be mountains and mountains of cares to climb. People of the world, can you think of something to wind down your burden which is heavier than this world in which you live? I agree with you when you say you never let a single second pass without a possible answer to your long list of misfortunes. Are you not forgetting? Despite all these, you seem to have left something out. You might have missed the best solution of them all.

Prayer is the best instrument every man should possess for himself in this highly-challenging world. Ask light by prayer on all problems, big and small, that arise with the sun and never quite disappear from earth's day. Never ask solutions, but demand light by which to make them. You'll probably tell me that you do pray. But do you really? Can you honestly say that you really communicate with God? Have you really ever tried to reach His heart and poured out your heart's contents? Have you ever offered Him what you ought to give? Do you thanked Him for the past favors not granted? Have you? Or did you just make a hasty sign of the cross followed closely by an enumeration of your endless petitions, of the things that you need?

What is prayer? How must we pray?

Firstly, let us consider when do we pray? as mentioned earlier prayer is communication. When we want to talk with a friend, do we wait for a certain time as 5 o'clock in the afternoon? When we are so happy about a particular event or a surprise given to us, do we wait for another hour? No. Prayer is exactly like that. Just as God is our Father who is more than willing and patiently listen to His children, we don't have to wait for any hour to pray. We can pray to Him anytime. Let us never be mindful that when we are in need of someone to run to He is always there, ever ready to welcome us. If you are in search of someone to share our joy and our experiences, He is also there, very eager to listen to us.

Secondly, let us develop perseverance and constancy in praying. When we ask favors, we kneel down for a number of hours or even days spent in prayerful effort. When it is not granted and our prayers remain unanswered, we cease to pray. This is a very wrong attitude. Our Father is so loving, He'll grant our wish, but we have to exert effort at times and we must be persevering so that our pleas will be heard.

How do we pray? In what gentility must we ask from God? For effective prayer, faith is necessary. They say that " faith can move mountains". Faith come easily if you remember that there is no greater chasm between the worlds. A prayer of faith attached with confidence is the best prayer. Do not try to connect with someone or something far off dismally removed from your sphere. Realize the presence of God; His omnipresence, His omnipotence. That spark of His presence inside you must, in prayer, be united to the great light which you are too blindly flesh to see. Be at peace about his decisions. Be at peace in the Great Consciousness by writing your will with the wisdom of the divine will which is comprehensible to you. Faith and trust in God must reign in us so that we may believe in him and in his mercy to make our petitions come true. Fear nothing; learn to recognize the voice. Have faith and trust.

We must ask God for good things, we must request Him for his heavenly kingdom, for the welfare of others and finally for our own good, too. Yes, we can ask from God anything provided it is in conformity with the Good and Truth. What does God want us to ask? First, is for His kingdom here on earth. Let us all seek the glory of God and establish a Christian kingdom here on earth. Before seeking for anything here on earth, we must seek God's kingdom first. In so doing, searching for His kingdom will lead us to possess everything of value in life here on earth. God, being so loving and so understanding, says that we have to ask for the things we need here on earth by all means. Such necessities, mind you, must enable us to be instruments in spreading God's kingdom. [Then let us all ask for forgiveness]. Before we ask favors, let us try to recall our mistakes and shortcomings which weaken our relationship with God. Let us all ask, too for graces so that we may live in aegis always. Temptation bound in this life so we must ceaselessly call on God's aid to win over them.

"Through Christ our Lord" is the phrase we must never forget to mention in our prayers, let us bear in mind at all times that, "no one comes to the Father except through me" -- these are Christ's words. We should always remember the God made-man who was sent to redeem us because of God's great love for us. In order to reach our Father's mercy, we must always invoke the sacred and powerful name of Jesus Christ. Didn't He say "anything that you ask the Father in my name, He will give you"?

This is what true prayer should be and how we ought to pray. If we are seeking for peace and happiness on earth, we must live in a world of prayer. There is in each of us a need for someone extra-human, to believe in someone who is more than human, responsible for eveything in the cosmos. From the movement of the celestial bodies to the activity of the minutest unicellular form of life. This need can only be filled in by God and faith. And is an imperative part of this relation. Prayer must always be present in our life in this world. Prayer is rather the raising of the heart into the presence of God anytime of day. It is the praise and joy exuded as flower sends forth its perfume. It is a warmth radiated as the sun sends forth the healing ray. It is a wind that wandereth where it is listeth, and a fresheth of clear water for the soul that thirsts. Prayer is the best treasure that we have here on earth. Let us not forget the saying: " What does it profit a man if he gains the world, but suffers the lose of his own souls?"