Dr. Helen Titilola OLOJEDE

Do you want to grow in prayer in this New Year? Today, let’s talk about prayer.

The late Pontiff, Pope Francis, once said, “I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live this event of grace well and to experience the strength of God’s hope.” So, what is prayer? Prayer is the fastening of our minds to Divine things, to gain knowledge of the divine and to utilize such knowledge to unite with God. In the Scriptures various phrases are used to express the act of prayer: to call upon (Gen., 4, 26); to intercede (Job, 22, 10); to meditate (Is., 53, 10); to consult (I Kings, 28, 6); to beseech (Ex., 32, 11); and, very commonly, to cry out to.

 

CCC 2559 defines prayer as “the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” It also describes it as a communion, our relationship as God’s children with God our Father, who is absolutely good, and His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Beyond vocal, meditative and contemplative prayer, there are four essential elements of Christian prayer:

(1) Prayer of Adoration/Blessing,

(2) Prayer of Contrition/Repentance,

(3) Prayer of Thanksgiving/Gratitude, and

(4) Prayer of Supplication/Petition/Intercession.

 

How can we live out a better prayer life?

There are various ways to do this: studying the scriptures, being intentional about going to weekday Mass, praying at least a novena in a month, sharing the faith, actively praying for oneself and others, saying the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, participating in the life of the Church, taking the Church’s community prayer seriously, the list is endless.

However, I would like to emphasize one form of prayer, ejaculatory prayer, as a way of communing with God throughout our busy day. This refers to a short prayer we can say in the quietness of our mind to stay focused on God. For example, “Jesus, I trust in you”, “Holy Family, I love you”, or “Jesus, help me”, or excerpts from Psalm 69: “God, come to my assistance; Lord, make haste to help me.”  Padre Pio describes ejaculatory prayer as “arrow” prayers because they “are like arrows that wound God’s heart.” In this New Year that is unfolding, let us spend more time in prayer using the ejaculatory prayer.

 

Vocal prayer is another and the commonest type of prayer. In vocal prayer, one prays with the mouth, joined with the heart. According to St Francis, vocal prayer is conceived internally in the heart and expressed through the lips. Vocal prayer is divided into three parts: Commanded, Recommended and Optional. Commanded part of vocal prayer includes: Our Father, the Creed, and, for a priest or religious (a member of a religious order), the Divine Office. ..

 

To be continued…