P. Jerzy Zielinsky O.Carm.
When we find it difficult to pray and want to learn how to pray, we often turn to various more or less wise books. The result, however, is often that we get lost in complicated explanations or start using various strange methods that still do not teach us to pray. We forget that even the wisest and most inspired books on prayer draw their wisdom from the source of all wisdom – from Jesus' teachings.
If we want to learn to pray well, we must first learn from Jesus’ gospel, listening to this unsurpassed master of prayer from whom all great saints learned to pray.
“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt 6:6).
We cannot converse with God when our minds are deafened by street noise, filled with dozens of conversations, concerns, and impressions from the shop windows we pass by. The voice that God uses to speak to us is unlike any of those that reach us daily. God is Spirit and communicates with us in a spiritual way. If we want to hear Him, to start conversing with Him, we must withdraw into solitude. We need to find a place where silence will not be disturbed by anyone or anything. Only in silence can we hear His voice. Jesus set us an example. The gospels often remind us that He went to deserted places, up mountains, to pray. This is completely natural. When guests come to us, we do not start reading the newspaper or watching television but focus our attention on them and engage with them.
All the more, we should leave all our worldly matters behind when we want to converse with God. But a person must desire such a conversation. They must strive to quiet their inner self so that they can hear God. For such a conversation, they must seek a suitable time and place.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Mt 6:7–8).
Once we kneel down to pray, words flow from our mouths like streams. We tell God about all our affairs. We tell Him what we need. Often, we want to be wiser than He is and persuade Him how necessary it is for Him to give us this or that. And we have many arguments for it. And when we speak like this, we do not realize that our prayer is no longer a conversation with God, that it is not a dialogue between two persons, but a monologue – the speech of one person. It is precisely this mistake that Jesus warns us about when He mentions the many words of pagans. God also has many things to tell us, but how can He do that if we do not let Him speak! In our prayer, there are too many words and very little silence. We use our minds, and not our hearts. And He, to whom billions of human beings turn with an immeasurable multitude of words, would like to hear the love that beats in our hearts. He does not prevent us from approaching Him with our concerns, but He would like there to be time dedicated to Him in every prayer, where we speak more from the heart than from the mouth and learn to listen to Him. We must realize that even before we kneel to pray, God already knows what we come to Him with, He knows what we need. Therefore, let us not try to persuade Him with our words. He knows better than we do what will serve our good.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21).
We can spend hours in prayer, and yet it will be of no use, it will bear no fruit if it is not accompanied by a correction of our lives. Jesus requires prayer to be fruitful. It cannot consist of mere words. A prayer that does not make us better may deprive us of the hope of the heavenly kingdom and the sight of God's face. Prayer will bear fruit if it is accompanied by fulfilling the Father’s will. This includes, above all, the demand for love for our neighbor. Furthermore, it must be accompanied by the honest fulfillment of our life tasks: parental duties, assigned work, or studies. Prayer should be a plea for the ability to fulfill our obligations.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23–24).
This is yet another very important piece of advice. We cannot converse with God if we have anger or hatred in our hearts towards another person. Only a person with a pure heart can converse with Him. Jesus taught how to forgive throughout His life. He commanded Peter, who asked Him about it, to forgive 77 times, which in Jewish understanding meant an infinite number of repetitions. We cannot bring gifts to God that are tainted with hatred towards anyone.
In the gospels, we find many such and similar pieces of advice from Jesus regarding prayer. Anyone who wants to pray well does not need to look for advice in other books. The entirety of Jesus' gospel, including the teachings on prayer, can be understood by a simple person. Jesus thanked the Father that the mysteries of the Kingdom were understood precisely by simple people. And to leave no room for doubt about the value of His advice, He said:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock” (Mt 7:24–25).
From the Polish magazine W cieniu Karmelu (No. 2/1995, pp. 18–19)
translated by Růžena Kouřimová.
Quotes from the Holy Scriptures according to the Ecumenical edition of the Bible
(Zvon, Prague 1991).
