We Need Prayer
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” ~ Martin Luther
Have you ever tried to hold your breath for a long time? A very long time? A very, very, very long time? You know that it’s pretty close to impossible. Sooner or later, you are going to have to give up and gulp some air. Ask any child who tried to get their way by holding their breath in a temper tantrum. If you don’t give up, your body will take over in an attempt at self-defense and it will cause you to pass out. In your passed-out state, you will begin breathing again.
We need to breathe. If we do not, we will die. The body cannot live for a long time without the air that it brings in. Brain death begins to occur within four to six minutes of a cessation in breathing. With that, life ends.
That is pretty frightening to consider. If you have ever been around a person who has had a heart attack, you know how quickly and aggressively a team of people will work to restore breathing. They do their best to stave off death.
There is another death to concern ourselves with as well. That would be the death of our soul. Luther summed things up rather accurately when he stated that a Christian needs to pray in order to be a Christian. To not pray is akin to not breathing. One would simply cease existing.
We must pray. Prayer feeds us. Prayer sustains us. Prayer motivates us. Prayer gives us direction. Prayer opens us up to our loving God. As important as prayer is, can you imagine a soul going without prayer? It would be rather pathetic, wouldn’t it?
Can you imagine yourself going without prayer? Let’s check. Did you pray today? Yesterday? Did you go to Mass two days ago in order to join in the liturgical prayer of the Church? Do you keep a regular schedule of prayer? Or do you just pray “when you need to”.
Let’s set the record straight: you need to. Today. Every day. Every moment. Why not start right now?
FAITH ACTION: Make time to pray today. If you are not sure what to say, just sit in silence and give God a chance to speak to you.