Strength in Prayer

Life in Sudan after the 2005 CPA – comprehensives peace agreement  is all about action. Places to go, people to see, things to do. So how, in the midst of it all, do we do more than find time for God, but actually make time for God? How do we not just leave time for prayer, but make prayer our first priority each and every day?

When we are saying other things in life are more valuable than prayer. I think that attitude is rooted in Sudanese tendency to value activity over the interior life. By our nature tend to gravitate toward external actions. We are all about doing and less about being, and prayer is very much about being. It’s about being with someone  - the Lord.

Our lives are measured in time. So when we give someone our time, we are giving them part of our lives. And that gift is what we were made for . God wants  to give his divine life to us, and he wants us to give ourselves back to him. If we are going to do that in eternity, in heaven, we need to get used to doing that in time . Also, remember  what Jesus says: “ I’m the vine . you are the branches. Without me you can do nothing.” Prayer is the time when we allow the sap from the vine to flow into us. That’s crucial to our flourishing and growth as Christians.  

If God is the most important part of our life, we begin with him rather than end with him. So many just give God the leftovers. We take care of all our other priorities, and if we have any time left we give it to God. But the lord gives us everything -  family , life, time – and calls us to give our best, our first fruits, back to him. So we need to first to figure out when we are going  to spend time with God each day, then address other priorities after that .

Take an inventory of how we spend our day. Most people will be shocked at how much time they spend on things  that aren’t crucial – checking email & facebook, looking for stories (shamarta) , watching television. Focus on those times, times that have no obligation attached, and think how you can use them better. Can we pray a rosary or take 15 minutes to read and pray over Scripture ? also try to praying some of the traditional prayers that mark the day, such as the Angelus at noon and 6. Those are little reminders to turn to God and give him our  will.

A holy hour is also something that can be done when it’s most convenient. Taking an hour to pull away from the hectic pace of our lives and just be with Christ in a very privileged way can be very fruitful. And of course, the more  people can make it to daily Mass, the better. The mass is the culmination of all the other prayers.   

Prayer is a gift of ourselves, to God. And very often what we can give is an hour or 15 minutes or series of moments. What happens in those moments depends on his action, his grace. We just need to keep giving him our time and let him take care of the rest