On True and Profound Prayer: To Distracted or Disenchanted Christians

Dear Reader,

Many people today have an incomplete understanding of what true and profound prayer is. Most tend to think it’s all about asking for help, or saying certain words over and over, or singing, or just relaxing, or centering on oneself. Some of those methods are fine occasionally, but by themselves, they are far too lacking…

Those methods became commonplace because they naturally emerged from our culture’s widespread concept of God. In fact, even many of our Christian parents and teachers often taught us to sell God short. They often taught us to think of God as a distant universe-architect or old-man-on-a-throne, or just a somewhat higher being than us; when actually, He is eternal and perfect and dwells within our souls, which are also eternal, and immaterial, but imperfect.

Also, they often taught us that God allows us to figure out our own rules on how to live, but this is not true. Actually, God grants us clear life instructions that have never changed, all pre-designed to prepare us to better receive His grace. Our culture implies that what Jesus accomplished on Good Friday and Easter is almost all we’ll ever need from God, other than His occasional help when we think we need it. But, as Scripture and centuries of saints teach us, we actually need God’s ongoing grace, daily.

One of those life instructions, leading us to such grace, directs us on how to pray. From the beginning, the Apostles and early Christians knew that Christian prayer is entirely different than other religions’ prayer techniques. Prayer is meant to be performed the way Jesus did. He showed this in many examples, such as “He would withdraw to deserted places to pray,” “Once when Jesus was praying in solitude…”, etc.

Like Jesus the Son being alone and silent with His Father, our goal is to be in quiet and darkness with God the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Profound prayer is taking five or ten or more minutes every day to be silent and alone with the Trinity, Who dwells within you.

But during those moments, what do you do? Your mind isn’t inactive or empty or repeating many words; it’s focused on God.

Start by simply concentrating on short scenes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. First, go to a dimly lit or dark room, somewhere quiet and calm. Next, turn on a light and read a scene slowly. Then, turn off the light, and for the rest of the time…

1. Place yourself in the scene, as one of the participants, or just as an observer.
   
2. As the scene unfolds in your silent mind, embrace the presence of Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles, there with you in the moment.
   
3. If you want, quietly ask questions to Jesus, or Mary, or Joseph, or the Apostles, or even God the Father; someday, they will answer you.
   
4. When your thoughts stray to other things, that’s okay; come back to the scene and re-focus.
   • You can say a brief phrase to help bring yourself back, such as “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” or “May Your Kingdom come.”
   • Each return you make is an act of love for God; those returns are the essential actions of true and profound prayer.
     
5. If you forget what’s occurring in the scene, read a line or two again.
   
6. Avoid dissecting the text for hidden meanings—you can research that later; for now, merely ask what it means to you and what Jesus is saying to you and all of us.
   • In the scenes, literally “behind-the-scenes,” you’re learning the Truth about how and why the Second Person of the Trinity loves us and is worthy of receiving back our love; you’re learning how the entire Trinity radiates from all that.
     
7. When the time is up, say an “Our Father” slowly, and you’re done.

The journey is only beginning. In time, when you persevere in this authentic prayer and the many moments of learning, returns, and love, as many saints have discovered, you will desire an even more real experience of the Trinity. More and more, you will move past imagining. When the time comes, you will focus your moments of silence and darkness on what you now know, by faith, is the Holy Trinity, dwelling within you, speaking to you, and moving in your life.

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash