Monday, August 9, 2010

Two Profound Prayer Ideas


Chicago Temple Stained Glass
Originally uploaded by Atelier Teee

I was listening to Catholic radio on Sirius on Saturday, which I have in my car so can't take notes on details.

I heard two wonderful insights on prayer.

One was from a Jesuit priest, which he learned from an elderly man who had a rich prayer life. The man often prayed for two hours and the priest asked him what he prayed about, and what words he used, during such a lengthy time in prayer. The man replied "I look at God and he looks at me."

That sounds very beautiful to me.

The second thing I heard on Sirius radio was a quote by Sister Angelica, who said she often prays "Lord, what do you want me to do at this moment?"

Isn't that profound? Her prayer often ends with immediate action by her.

Now, those are two wise people, and I note that each of them is a senior citizen. Sometimes it takes time to learn how to pray and to spend time with our Father.

16 comments:

Mari said...

Those are good insights. I would love to pray for 2 hours, but I have a problem with my mind wandering. I think the devil likes to mess with us when we pray and I also think the more you do it, the closer you get to God, therefore less wandering of the mind.
Thanks for sharing those.

Heart2Heart said...

It's very true how insightful our older generation of believers truly is in the things that are of the most importance.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

myletterstoemily said...

i love both of those prayers.

my husband's great grandfather
made stained glass windows in
chicago. how fun if that were
one of his!

Amrita said...

Both these saints must have a very deep an d close relationship with the Lord to pray like this.I want to get to this place.

I wonder what the man experiences at the time and can he teach it to others.

Anonymous said...

Dear Terra, Such a posting as this one does indeed cause one to stop and reflect and, possibly, pray. None of which, I believe, is at all a bad thing to do!

Wandering Writer said...

I think you are right in noting that they are "senior citizens." Prayer is one of those things in our Christian walk that is refined, deepened, and made more meaningful over the years. One of the most beautiful things in our church family is a group of seniors who meet every Thurs. morning for prayer together.

Beth in NC said...

The elderly gentleman's comment made me smile. Sweet.

Thanks for sharing Terra.

Blessings!
Beth

GwendolynKay said...

I recently read in a magazine that "Prayer is the opposite of multitasking"
Thanks for sharing these.
Blessings~
Gwen

Tea with Tiffany said...

We can learn a lot from those who have walked with God longer. Loved both of these insights. And I'm thinking about getting sirius radio.

:)

Thanks!

Stella Jones said...

Yes I do think it takes time. As we get older we have more time to 'smell the roses' so to speak. I like the sentiments you told to us. I also like listening to the radio. If you like internet radio, you might like to try our programme 'Something Understood' You will find it if you go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio click on the A - Z index and then S and look down the list to find Something Understood. It lasts about half an hour.
Blessings, Star

Terry said...

Howdy Terra
Thank you so very much for sharing this profound wisdom.
I really needed this right at this moment :)
God is good !
Big hugs with blessings to you and all yours .
Until next time
Happy Trails

NanaDiana said...

Hi Terra- I have a daughter TARA and a friend, Terra. I just wanted to say thank you for dropping by my blog and leaving a very nice comment. I just read your post and I pray that often-what do you want me to do-right now? It's a kind of scary prayer really, isn't it? Because then we have a choice to respond or ignore "the answer". Thanks for the lovely reminder to listen to the wisdom of those that are older...Diana

Patty said...

Thanks for your visits. I can't imagine praying for two hours at one time. Both seem to know how they wish to pray and I love Sister Angelica's quote. Beautiful stained glass. Have a wonderful week-end.

The Painted Garden said...

Hi Terra,

Thank you for the beautiful post. I read it several times and loved it.
Have a lovely day.
Blessings,
Erin

Deborah Ann said...

Beautiful! I have found that my quiet times with God where He does all of the talking are the most precious hours of my day...

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Great post, prayer is awesome.