Prayer And The Obedience Of Faith

Saturday of the 29th Week in Course 2023

Our Lord frequently prayed at night, perhaps because His fame spread so widely in a short time that people desperate for help surrounded Him every day (except perhaps the Sabbath). So what did He do when praying? We can learn a great deal from His prayer.

When praying at night away from the lights and smoke of the city, you are automatically attracted to the night sky, filled with myriads of visible stars and galaxies. The psalmist had it right, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” And His power, and His design, and His beauty. Human beings are, and should be, speechless in the face of God’s creation.

We know that Jesus prayed to the Father with the words that He told us to use in prayer. That’s why we call the “Our Father” the “Lord’s prayer.” At least some of that prayer, Christ’s human nature learned from His mother, Mary. “Thy will be done” echoes her words: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me as you have spoken.” The break between God and humanity began when the first man and woman heard the voice of God, heard His very simple commandment, and said, “No, not your will but mine be done.” And that led to their loss of sanctifying grace and the entry of violence and death into human relationships. In contrast, the acquiescence of Jesus and Mary to God’s will has led to the opposite. We have access to grace and eternal life with the Blessed Trinity precisely because of their obedience, and our imitation of them by the obedience of faith. Through our living in faith, love and hope, we are built together into a structure of faith. We can offer prayer to the Father through Christ because we are One with Christ as a dwelling place, a Temple for God in the Spirit.

After one particular night of prayer–and I mean all night, without sleep–Jesus made an important decision. He chose twelve leaders for His new Israel, twelve leaders for the twelve tribes, and named them apostles because they would be sent all over the world. Some, Like Peter and John and Matthew, left written and traditional stories of their apostolic work. Some, like Simon the Zealot and this saint who was always introduced as “Judas–not the Iscariot” left very little evidence. But we know their work led to our faith, and their prayers for us continue forever.