Prayer
January 19, 2021
Hey y'all!
Some classroom updates for you: I visited almost every classroom this week, and I thank God for the opportunity to do so! With the kindergartners through second-graders, I talked about Jesus as Healer. With the fourth through eight-graders, I talked about the priest acting in persona Christi. If you see one of them, ask them what that means! I got to visit third grade twice this week. First, we talked about the Sabbath and the Creation story. The second time, we talked about in persona Christi.
As I mentioned briefly last week, I'd like to say a bit about prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. You get to know somebody by not only talking to them but also by listening to what they have to say. Our prayer should be a dialogue, not a monologue, and it should happen quite often. Having a solid and consistent prayer-life is essential to one's faith. Getting to know God through silent prayer and contemplation, reading Scripture, and other types of prayer is how one cultivates a relationship with Him. If you don't have a practice of daily prayer, what better time to start than now! It doesn't have to be much. Just start with five minutes; God appreciates the baby steps. Starting small will also better dispose you to continue with the practice. Start your prayer by praising God and giving Him the worship He is due. Then thank Him for all the blessings He has bestowed upon you. Then simply talk to God about your day or ask Him for anything you need. After this, make sure you take a couple of minutes to silently listen to what He has to say. It's okay if you don't hear anything at first; it's hard to recognize the voice of someone we don't know well yet. Finally, thank God again for the opportunity to talk to Him. And voilà, you're done! Doing this every day and gradually building upon it will foster your relationship with God and improve all other areas of your life. A wise priest once told me that serious prayer and serious sin cannot coexist. If you take time to get to know God, everything else will fall into place. Life might not be perfect, but you'll have the virtues needed to deal with your struggles well. You'll be able to discern decisions and avoid mistakes. You'll want to avoid hurting the one you've come to know and love, so you'll start sinning less and less. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't going to happen overnight. Like all good things, it takes time, patience, and dedication to commit to a life of prayer and holiness, but boy is it worth it.
If you have any questions about prayer, feel free to reach out! Speaking of prayer, know of my continued prayers for y'all, and please keep me and this ministry in yours.
Peace of Christ,
Miss Jessica
A.M.D.G.