Pray. Pray much. Pray on.

Fr. Jerry Orbos

It is always an inspiring sight to see a person with head bowed, and knees bent in prayer. In whatever way, or in whatever form, a person in prayer is a person at peace. The value of prayer is not just the belief that our petitions will be granted, but the assurance that we are not alone, that there is someone listening, and that there is some hope and direction amid our loneliness and confusion. Pray. Pray much. Pray on.

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When was the last time you really prayed, and prayed really? There are times when, try as we might, we come to a standstill, and we hit rock bottom. At such times, pray. Pray angry, pray mad, pray ugly, whatever, but pray anyway. And pray on. No need to pray beautiful. Just pray real.
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The very first act I do every morning is to kneel down as soon as I wake up. This practice I learned from our formator, Fr. Michael Padua, SVD, when I entered the minor seminary in 1966. On bended knees, we do not need to say much because when we kneel in humility, we know who we are, and we know who God is. When we kneel down, with all our blessings and “achievements,” we know that all these come from God, and that they could be gone in a flick of a finger. When we kneel down, with all our burdens and problems, we know for certain, that there is someone bigger than us who can help us. Do you want to know who you really are, and what the score really is? Kneel down!
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At the end of the day, kneel down. (If unable to do this, just bow down your head in prayer). Whatever transpired during your day, good or bad, happy or sad, lay them all before God’s heart, and surrender everything in prayer. Prayer at the end of the day provides the necessary “closure” to help us get a good night’s rest.
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Try this: If you cannot sleep, hold your rosary or your crucifix. No need to say much. Just stay focused, then surrender everything instead of trying to resolve all your problems and concerns in your head. And yes, instead of counting sheep, count your blessings.
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Why is prayer important? A text message I received says: “Prayer quiets our hearts, clears our vision, activates our faith and makes things happen.” If prayer seems not important to you yet, at this point in time, maybe that is the reason why your heart is not quiet, your vision is not clear, your faith is not active and things are not really happening in your life.