30 May, Saturday — Prayer is the Foundation

Saturday of Week 8 in Ordinary Time

Jude 1:17,20-25
Mk 11:27-33

You must use your most holy faith as your foundation and build on that, praying in the Holy Spirit…

I firmly believe that a solid foundation is the key to everything — be it to build a successful career, to create lasting friendships, to enjoy a peaceful family life, or even just to build a dependable golf swing. The hours we spend in building that foundation forms the basis of how we live our lives and whether we enjoy our golf with pars or bogeys.

Even Jesus tells us in the scriptures:

“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matt 7:24-25

There is also a saying that to be good at anything, we have to practice for 10,000 hours.

I am sure we all know this and are doing this, regardless of what life stage we are going through now. Building this foundation is not ‘fun’. It is oftentimes boring and monotonous. For someone like me, who doesn’t like repetitive tasks, it’s very often torturous.

In our faith journeys, we have always been told that the most important thing is to build a personal relationship with God. One of the ways we can do it is by spending time in prayer. We often hear that prayer is boring and we only fit in prayer time at a time of our convenience. But if we profess to love God, then why wouldn’t we want to spend time with the one we love? If we can spend hours at the driving range, or hours pounding the streets to lose a few kilos, wouldn’t we want to spend the same amount time with God, who loves us so much that He sacrificed Himself for us.

I guess it is also the manner we pray. I once heard that if we attempt to pray the Lectio Divina while lying down, it can easily become a ‘sleepeo divina’. But our faith is so rich and we are so spoilt for choice with the many forms of prayer that we can choose and use. I myself, sometimes struggle with what prayer style to use.

Should I immerse myself in Ignatian contemplation, reflect using the Lectio Divina, or should I pray the Examen, or pray the Rosary or the Daily Office? Or should I just be still and spend quiet time, letting God come to me? The choices are numerous and I struggle to choose a particular type of prayer. Sometimes too much knowledge is indeed a bad thing.

Although I struggle with the choice of prayer, I neglect the most important thing of all. That is, making time out of my day to spend time with God. I try to spend at least 30 mins in the morning before work to pray the Morning Office and to reflect on the daily readings. But, if I have to do a morning workout, then that goes out the window. This is not something that I am proud of. So, I try to do some reflections while running. Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t.

I want to pray more and spend more time with the Lord. But I am weak and swayed by distractions. But I do try to acknowledge the presence of God throughout the day. Whether it’s praying before meals, or thanking God when a parking lot becomes available in a car park that’s full, or even making the sign of the cross when passing by a church, or when I see an ambulance with its lights flashing. I believe that all these small things enable me to remain connected to God.

However little we pray, I know that as long as we set aside the time to pray, we are slowly building the foundation. To know God better and to build that personal relationship, which is the key to everything. Because God is the foundation of everything.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Calvin Wee)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are all we long for. You are the reason for our being. All we have belongs to you. Grant that we be always faithful to you, in good times and in bad, as you continue to work in our lives to love us and to draw us closer to you. Amen.

Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for teaching us how to pray. Thank you for always making us yearn for you, and thank you for that stirring in our heart that can only lead to You. Help us Lord, to answer the yearning and to find our own way to commune with You, for You are what we desire. Amen.