For several weeks, the Church has been offering us passages from the First and Second Letters of St. Paul to St. Timothy. Today, St. Paul instructs him (and us!) to persevere in our work, to remain rooted in God’s Word, to proclaim that Word with persistence in all circumstances, and to use it to “correct, reprove, and appeal with patience.”
St. Paul encourages us to combine our prayers with action. This should come as no surprise: Jesus often says the same in the Gospels. St. Paul adds that, ideally, we should start our prayers by reading from the Scriptures and allowing God’s Word to penetrate our hearts. Formal, memorized, and liturgical prayers are essential for Christian prayer, but our tradition also prizes “talking to God in our own words” — praising Him, thanking Him, and presenting our needs before Him — all of which can transform our whole life into a prayer.
This week: Let’s be sure to bring ourselves into God’s presence frequently each day by offering to God all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do. Along with formal and memorized prayers, this type of prayer enables us to “pray always” and pray with constancy, trust, and perseverance.
Too big for a bumper sticker, but just right for a poster: “If the request is wrong, God answers, “No.” If the timing is wrong, God answers, “Slow.” If we are asking wrongly, God answers, “Grow.” But if the request is right, the timing is right, and we are asking rightly, God says, “Go!”
