Need to pray

Last Friday my Woman to Woman Ministry gathered to explore different forms of prayer and the topic this meeting was spiritual journalling and why it is so important if we are intent on deepening our faith walk (we have already covered praise & worship, lectio divina and Ignatian contemplation).

I view journalling as my opportunity to compose spiritual snapshots that I can go back and review, re-living my experiences in a deep and insightful way for they tell me where I have been on my journey, whether consolation, desolation or revelation, and where I might be heading.

God's timing is impeccable for in deciding what passage of Scripture to meditate on for Friday, I chose today's gospel from Luke 18:1-8 where Jesus relates the parable of the persistent widow to teach us of the "need to pray continually and never lose heart".

I have lost heart recently and as Fr. Ron Rolheiser pointed out in his October 10th column, Maturity in Relationships and Prayer*, prayer is "easy only for beginners and for those who are already saints".

For the rest of us who have been journeying for a while now, we are like people in a mature relationship, where the initial blush of love has worn off and disillusionment sets in.

But here is where we must remain faithful to our commitments, our practices and rituals of life and "show up" especially when we don't feel like it.

Here is where prayer truly is an act of faith.

Here is where we must make the choice: to continue believing and praying like the widow (who had three strikes against her being a woman who didn't have rights, a widow who had no advocate to fight for her legal rights and an unjust judge who refused to give her "her just rights") or to let life and people disillusion us to the point where we begin to walk away from God.

The advice given by a Jesuit priest to Fr. Rolheiser's friend was simple and effective: "Just do it! Show up and sit in silent prayer for half an hour a day, even if you feel like you are talking to a wall. It's the only practical advice I can give you."

Just as the widow was persistent, so too was Moses, with the help of Aaron and Hur, in assisting Joshua in his battle against the Amalekites through the powerful prayer of holding the staff of God with upraised arms (Exodus 18:8-13).

I have never been more glad that I have my W2W Ministry, to journey with me, to be my Moses, Aaron or Hur, for keeping faith has been a real battle at times and my sisters keep me from losing too much heart or abandoning the fight altogether.

The Holy Spirit's graces are never far from us, especially if we keep to what we "have been taught and know to be true" by actively witnessing to God's Word (2 Timothy 3:14).

In brief: "Put your hope in God and prayer" (Psalm 42).

* http://www.ronrolheiser.com/