There is a wonderful story in the Hebrew Scriptures, it has to do with Abraham and God (Genesis 18:24 – 33). The dialogue goes something like this: God says, if there be 50 faithful persons in the world, I will not destroy it. But, what if there are 45 faithful persons asks Abraham? I will not destroy, answers God. And so, it goes, until Abraham makes the final proposal, what if there are only 10 faithful persons? God answered, for the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. This story takes us to the Cross of Christ, where God, does not destroy but rather blesses all of creation because of the faith of one person of faith, Jesus.
The story makes us realize how every act of faith brings a blessing upon all of creation. One privileged act of faith is prayer.
It is frequently important to create or return to favorite prayer images. Understandably, no particular image is going to be “better” than another, what will be “better” is that the Lord and not I, are at the center. This can be challenging since we tend to be creatures of habit and at times we need to give ourselves a push.
One way to do this is to be mindful of our particular moment in life. The image could be of the sower. Our particular moment in life might be dominated by the extraordinary joy of a new child in the family, a particular concern, or an experience of fear. We can then simply be still and allow the Lord to enter into the garden of our life. He is the expert who knows how to simile and rejoice where the flowers are, who will know what weeds need to be pulled, where watering will need to take place, or perhaps a bit of pruning. To simply stay there for as long as you can, is already a prayer and blessing.
Another way of doing this is to allow the day’s scripture to enter the particular moment in life. Not as one would employ a tool or approach a medicine cabinet, but as one wants to become an integral part of God’s life. Today’s scripture reading is from the Gospel of Luke. We are told that “people’s hearts are full of hope” – pause and consider, what are your most profound hopes? In silence, remain there, allowing the words that shape your hope to be the prayer that rises to the Lord. Perhaps at a second siƫng, allow John the Baptist to speak to you about those hopes of yours, let him introduce you to the One who is the source of all hope, Jesus. Let Our Lord, invite you to share in his baptism. Hear the words, “you are my beloved” son/daughter be spoken to you. Remain there for a long time. Don’t be surprised if gratitude appears and an apparent newness of perspective. Even if your particular moment in life is very challenging, it will be all right, being beloved is the focus and source of all that will be.
You may have other approaches, other images that the Lord has brought to your attention. And then, there will be times when there are no images, a certain lack of ease, and it seems we just can’t pray. Most important, don’t fret, simply remain. As it tends to happen, from our side, prayer is mostly “showing up”, remain prayerful and remember that you are not alone, there are “at least ten others who are also praying”.
Father Francisco Gómez, S.T.