a year of prayer?
"Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed." —Mark 1:35
Christians are disciples of Christ. We try to imitate Christ as closely as possible. We try to speak, think, act, work, love, and pray as Jesus does.
Jesus prayed always (see Lk 18:1). He started His day of prayer by "rising very early" and going "to a deserted place, where He prayed." We should try to imitate Jesus' early morning prayer and give Him the first fruits of the day. We will probably find this difficult because the devil will fight us to make sure we don't have a good start to each day. But the Lord has given us the grace to get up early — often by giving us the grace to go to bed earlier. This sometimes requires shutting off or throwing out the TV. We must make our relationship with the Lord through prayer our top priority. Love should be more important than pleasure, entertainment, and selfish concerns. In effect, to pray as Jesus prayed we must relate to the world as Jesus did (1 Jn 4:17).
If we begin each day right — in imitation of Jesus, we will begin the year right. If we make this a year of prayer, it will be a year of love. Pray as if your life depended on it, because it does.
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to help me in my weakness, for I do not know how to pray as I ought (Rm 8:26).
Promise: "Because He Himself was tested through what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested." —Heb 2:18
Praise: Martha begins each day by uniting her heart to those intentions of the Sacred Heart.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Daily Prayer on audio AV 62-3 or video V-62.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend David L. Zink, June 12, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 13, 2002