In harmony with Pope Francis - who wanted 2024 to be a year dedicated to prayer in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee - we continue our journey along the paths of prayer, guided by Father Patrizio Sciadini and his The Journey of Prayer.
How do we pray well?
To pray well, we must first ask ourselves what it means to pray well. Father Patrizio answers in a way that might surprise us: «It does not mean seeking beautiful words, but having a heart full of love for God and the desire to do his will in every circumstance. Saint Teresa of Ávila says that it is not always possible to meditate, because, for example, if our head or a tooth hurts, it becomes difficult to think; yet we can always pray, because it is always possible to offer God our suffering and worries, or simply repeat: “My God, I love you!”. It is not up to us to judge whether we have prayed well or badly: the Lord judges that. […] Let us simply pray with commitment, do our part… and God will do the rest. To pray well simply means praying with humility, faith, and great love, wanting to glorify God and do good to everyone».
What are the difficulties in prayer?
Who among us has never encountered difficulties when it comes to praying? Tiredness, lack of will, spiritual dryness, distractions, little faith… Father Patrizio identifies the obstacles to prayer, but above all invites us to have confidence: «We should not worry about temptations in prayer, but simply overcome them by not giving them importance: what matters is overcoming everything through the power of love».
How do we overcome difficulties?
The condition that enables us to emerge victorious over any difficulty that comes between us and prayer is the willingness to pray without ever giving up; the secret is never to lose heart and always resume the journey.
The Author then gives us valuable practical advice such as this: «When we realize that we have become distracted, let us try to return to prayer, think of God, and resume our path of prayer with great humility and patience. Let us turn distractions into reasons for prayer. How? If, for example, I am praying and find myself thinking about work and the people who share it with me, I take the opportunity to pray for them». When we realize that we are distracted, the important thing is to return immediately to prayer and turn everything into prayer.
If, on the other hand, we realize that we lack the will to pray, «there is only one thing left to do: pray to remain faithful to the time of prayer that we have committed ourselves to observing. In this case, therefore, we do not pray for personal satisfaction, but out of fidelity to a commitment we have made. Fidelity is a characteristic of love and of the commitments in our lives».
Let us not abandon prayer when we are in sin
Another valuable piece of advice Father Patrizio gives us is not to abandon prayer if we find ourselves in a state of sin. Let us not fall into the trap of feeling unworthy; rather, let us intensify our prayer. Abandoning it would be like «getting inside a refrigerator to overcome the cold we feel, or trying to clean ourselves after getting dirty by running away from the water… If we are in sin, we must continue to pray and ask the Lord for the strength to overcome sin through a good Confession».
Prayer is the breath of the soul… Let us allow our souls to breathe in the beauty of heaven to the fullest!!!
Continue reflecting with us on the beauty of prayer. In the next article, we will discover which attitudes or actions are not prayer and cannot be associated with prayer.
If you wish, share your prayer experience and any difficulties you may have with us; we will be happy to listen!
