Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
A critical element of Christ’s earthly life that often goes overlooked is just how frequently he retreats into solitude for quiet time alone in prayer. One of the most frequently asked questions that I receive is “What is prayer? How do I do it?“. The simple reality is that prayer is conversation with God. It does not need to be elaborate or carefully planned out. In fact, it kind of shouldn’t be. Prayer just needs to be honest and heartfelt, like talking with a best friend who knows you better and loves you more than anyone else ever could. There can be a temptation to try and put on a good face in front of God and pretend that we have it all together but He knows us better than we know ourselves and sees our hearts with absolute clarity. There is nothing hidden from His loving gaze.
More than anything, prayer is about relationship. You can’t have a relationship with a person you never talk to or spend time with. In the same way that you can cultivate relationships with your best friends just by hanging out with them in the same space, we can similarly cultivate relationships with God just by intentionally spending time with Him. Time with God doesn’t have to be anything particularly noteworthy either. People often recount that many of their favorite times with friends or family members were some the of most mundane, ordinary moments just doing simple things together. God also desires relationship with each of individually and waits for us in the silence at every moment of every day.