Prayer to the Rescue

Sep 8, 2022 filed under Beatitudes, Faith, Prayer.

Portrait of a young woman praying.

A fourth-century deacon wrote, “Do nothing at all unless you begin with prayer.”

Oops. We may remember to pray when we need help, but many of us forget to pray before we get into trouble. Note to self.

So if we’ve messed up because we forgot to ask for guidance, what kind of prayer should we offer when we need help now? St. Jane de Chantal helps us: “If in going to prayer you can form in yourself the pure capacity for receiving the Spirit of God, that will suffice ….”

For St. Jane, prayer is the art of receiving. Which means not clogging up the airwaves telling God what we think he should do. Instead, we try our best to trust him. We wait for him to act in his way and in his time.

So many people struggle with receiving the spirit of God — for 4 main reasons:
1. They can’t seem to stick to a prayer routine.
2. When they do sit down to pray, their mind is in 49 places at once and they can’t focus.
3. Even when they can focus, they’re not sure whether they’re hearing God, the inside of their own head, or the enemy.
4. They’re too discouraged to even try again because they feel like they’ve failed so often to build a good prayer life.

I’ve been there! And I’ve studied and practiced the saints’ prayer secrets for 30 years and would love to share them with you in my new 90-day program, “Pray Like a Saint.” If you’ve ever wondered if there’s “something wrong” with you and if if seems like everyone else has a close connection to God but you, you’re not alone! You’d be surprised how common this feeling is, but no one talks about it.

If you’d like a closer connection with God that results in less worry and stress and way more peace, I’d love to chat with you to see if I might be able to support you in finally having a prayer life that you love. Schedule a call with me at https://calendly.com/vir2connection/chat-with-rose

Joy no matter what
It can be hard to remember that we can be joyful even while we’re waiting for God to solve our problem. But even while we’re waiting for him, he is alive and active in us. That brings us to another kind of prayer—one that looks for and recognizes God’s action deep in our soul. It’s the kind of action that brings us joy no matter what else is happening.

St. Therese of Lisieux explains this kind of prayer: “Prayer means a launching out of the heart toward God; it means lifting up one’s eyes, quite simply, to heaven, a cry of grateful love, from the crest of joy or the trough of despair; it’s a vast, supernatural force that opens out my heart and binds me close to Jesus.”

Prayer opens out our heart. It opens our heart to offer to God all that is troubling us and it opens our heart to receive the grace of peace from the Holy Spirit himself.

Prayer—asking for guidance, receiving the Spirit of God, and opening our heart—untangles our minds, gets us out of ourselves, and connects us with the “vast supernatural force” that is eternal peace. We are made in the image of the God of peace. Prayer connects us with that. But most of us need guidance to get there!

Prayer for others
Once we’ve “put our own oxygen mask on,” we’re in a position to help others with our prayer. St. Gregory the Great wrote, “He causes his prayers to be of more help to himself, who offers them also for others.”

St. Paul of the Cross puts it this way: “The soul at prayer is a rock, because God holds it fast in his infinite love.”

Learn what the saints know about finding peace in my program, “Pray Like a Saint.” Book a call with me when I’ll help you sort out your next best step for growing closer to God at https://calendly.com/vir2connection/chat-with-rose. I look forward to connecting with you!

Love always,
Rose

12 Responses to “Prayer to the Rescue”

  1. Maria Uballe

    It’s 2 am, I woke up to go to the bathroom. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I grabbed my phone to check the time. I then went to check my email, your email is what I saw. I felt like God sent this to me because I have been feeling like I’m disconnected from God. I fall asleep praying the rosary. I used to be a more prayerful woman. Please help.

    • MARYALICE Ruiz

      Thank you for your weekly spiritual inspiration. It is a blessing for me 🙏🥰

  4. Lucia Broussard

    I am guilty and very aware that my mind is in 49 displaced especially when saying the rosary. I ask guidance from the Holy Spirit before each rosary.
    Hope one day I will be able to concentrate

  6. Jan

    Thank you Rose! As always, you are so thoughtful, helpful and inspirational as Beverly said! Your kind ,soft spoken demeanor just draws me in and I always leave better than when I came…God Bless You!

  7. Sabine Paul

    Thank you for this reflection and for encouraging us to remain steadfast in prayer.

  8. Tom Roberts

    For the most part I ask for ability to put the gifts and talents given me to work in God’s service . . . With ENTHUSIASM! That’s the tricky part.

  9. Diane Upham

    Dear Rose,
    You are a steadfast friend that reminds me always, that when we pray with God as our Rock, we hold Him close to our Heart, which allows our prayers to be more reverent, more powerful, more loving than we could ever be on our own.
    Thank you for being the human God wants you to be and you accepted with no worries, only reservations that you could be good enough!! Wow, love this writing.

  10. Lucy Edwards

    Thank you Rose, for your inspirational thoughts, your prayers..Your thoughtfulness, keeping me in your prayers. I am taking care of myself as best as I can.

    God Bless you.

    Lucy Edwards