The Battle of Prayer

Sometimes prayer is a battle, a battle to stay focused on what matters most: our relationship with God. Our thoughts and feelings can easily be accosted by distractions and temptations. That’s only human. Even Jesus, who was human and divine, allowed himself to be tempted, as we hear in the gospel reading for this Sunday. Each year on the First Sunday of Lent of Lent we hear the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. The gospels tell us that it was the Holy Spirit that led him into the desert, and Matthew and Luke point out the specific reason Jesus was led there: “to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:2).

It appears that Jesus was not planning to enjoy a 40-day retreat resting in blissful consolation with His Beloved Father. Rather; as Rev. Sebastian White, O.P. writes, Jesus “goes to the desert precisely to undo the damage of Adam’s fall… St. Thomas Aquinas says that ‘Christ went into the desert as to a field of battle.’ Jesus intends to get right what Adam got wrong… ‘As Adam is cast out of paradise into the wilderness, so Christ, the new Adam, goes into the wilderness on our behalf, then to come forth from that temptation to lead us back to paradise’ (St. Ephrem the Syrian). When we find ourselves in the desert—when we are tempted or desolate—we can be confident that Christ is with us and desires to lead us to heaven” (Lectio Divina in the March edition of Magnificat, p. 121). 

So let us not afraid to go into the desert of Lent to fast and pray with Jesus. We enter this holy season led by the Spirit with confidence “that Christ is with us and desires to lead us to heaven.” Judeo Christian tradition emphasizes three penitential practices: prayer, fasting and alms-giving. This weekend we focus on our stewardship of prayer. As much as I would like to present it to you as an invitation to blissful consolation with God, let’s be honest: prayer can sometimes be a struggle. 

Sometimes when I try to pray I get bored, distracted or accosted by various temptations. The most effective of these temptations is the suggestion that I don’t really need to pray; I’ll be okay without prayer time today; it’s not really worth the time when there’s so many other ‘important’ things to do.   

Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this struggle for us Christians saying that every day we must renew our “decision to be Christian, that is, to give God first place in the face of the temptations that a secularized culture constantly suggests… It is far from easy to be faithful to Christian marriage, to practice mercy in daily life, to make room or prayer and inner silence… In this season of Lent let us renew our commitment to make room for God, seeing daily reality with his eyes” (General Audience Feb. 13, 2013, as quoted in the March edition of Magnificat, pp. 133-134).

As you think about your Lenten commitment, try starting with this question: What do I desire most during this season of Lent? Take this question to prayer. Ask the Lord to help you discern your deepest desire, and His deepest desire for you. Might I suggest that the Lord wants to spend quality time with you because He loves you? Would you like to spend quality time with Him? 

If so, then make a commitment to stewardship of prayer for this Lent. Fill out the pledge card and lay it before the Lord’s altar this weekend. Maybe God will bless this prayer time in such a way that you will want to continue it for the rest of the year. There may be times when it feels like a battle in the desert. Just remember that the Lord is in the desert with you. “Be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Jesus is leading you to heaven.