I am
re-reading a book by Cole Casey, a Franciscan Friar, entitled, “Called: What Happens
After Saying Yes to God.” He has great insights into walking with God and
growth in the Christian life.
His chapter
on prayer is wonderful and yet simple. He said that even though he loved God,
he hadn’t made prayer a priority in his life before his first year as a friar.
But when he started his lessons, one of his teachers said, “Unless prayer is the foundation for
everything you do, you will not become good Franciscans.”
Here is an
excerpt from his book:
“While I knew I could not control how
tired, distracted, interested, comfortable or happy I was going to be during
prayer, nor could I affect the outcome of the experience, I knew I could
control my attendance. Within the first couple of weeks of novitiate, I made a
commitment quietly sit in the chapel for thirty minutes a day. All I had to do
was show up. And let me tell you: a lot of mornings, that’s all I did. There
were days that getting out of bed to sit in a cold chapel was the last thing I
wanted to do. There were days when I could have spent that time doing “more
important” things. There were days when I was angry at God, my brothers or
myself and didn’t want to deal with them. There were days when showing up,
literally, was all I could have done. And yet, in the past I wouldn’t have even
done that.
What I came to realize was that
showing up, having fidelity to prayer, was in fact a prayer in and of itself. I
found that it offered an insight into God’s fidelity to me, that God was always
there, showing up for me, not because I deserved it, was particularly enjoyable
to be around, or offered a fulfilling experience, but because of his commitment
to my life. Showing up, even when I didn’t want to, offered me the opportunity
to return that love, to emulate the God who had never failed to love me.”
Although, I
have done this kind of praying for years, I hadn’t thought about how important
it is that God is always showing up for me, whether I’m aware of it or not. He
is right beside me, a word away, a breath away. His faithfulness to me is
constant. After reading this chapter, I felt the weight of the privilege we all
have in Jesus. What a wonderful and amazing God he is!
