Praying always

In the 1960s, someone at IBM coined the word "multi-tasking” to describe what their newest computers could do.  Pretty soon, it became a buzzword for efficiency.  Everyone was encouraged to multitask so they would be more effective and efficient.  The problem is that psychologists have confirmed in test after test that none of us can truly multi-task with any proficiency at all.  When we try to do two things at once, it takes longer and we make more mistakes than if we just did one thing, finished it, and did the second thing. 

Early on, I realized that I was not really very good at this multi-tasking thing.  I could do lots of things and I could them very quickly, but if I wanted to do it right, or get anything done at all, I had to focus on just one thing at a time.  So when Jesus tells me to pray always, I get confused.  If I prayed always, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else!  I can’t do two things at once!

My problem is that I often think of prayer as something to do.  When I get up in the morning, I “do” morning prayer.  It’s on my list of things to do.  But prayer is not something that would be on a list of to-dos. 

St. Jerome said that for the saints, even their sleeping is prayer.  St. Augustine wrote that when we practice faith, hope, and charity with continual desire, we pray always.  In essence, what the saints teach me is that prayer is not just something I do; it is something I am. 

When I am fully aware of the God who is with me until the end of name, who wishes to dwell within me at all times, in whose name is my help and my strength, my life becomes prayer.  I am praying always, since the other things that I am doing are being done for the glory of God, led by the Spirit to fulfill God’s will.

To use Jesus’ metaphor, praying always is as simple as leaving the light on – “Let you light shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:16)

So the key to praying always is simply to have a constant awareness of God in my life.  Thus, what keeps me from praying always is not a lack of time to do other things, or not an inability to multi-task, but simply forgetting that which I should always know – that God is always present to me and simply wants me to be present to him. 

The readings today give me some clues as to how I can remind myself of God’s presence, and thus transform my life into constant prayer.

Paul points out to Timothy, as he points out to us, the critical role of Scripture.  In the second-most famous 3:16 in the Bible, we hear “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tm 3:16).  Note to self – read and reflect on scripture daily.

Moses wants to pray for the people as they defend themselves against Amalek.  But he can’t do it alone.  Aaron and Hur find him a seat and help hold his hands up in prayer.  (Ex 17:8-13)  Just like Moses, I need the help of others, too.  There are people out there who have successfully transformed their lives into constant prayer, who now enjoy the most intimate presence of God.  Note to self – study the lives and the writings of the saints.  Become friends with the saints.

Well, that’s a good start, but it’s only a start.  I need more.  To make the constant spiritual presence of God uppermost in my mind, what could be more natural than spending time in the physical presence of God?  Note to self – participate in the Mass and practice adoration regularly.

But even with all this, I still find myself forgetting God, acting selfishly, working for my own glory instead of God’s.  What’s a body to do?  Like all mistakes in life, we can best avoid them by finding out why we made them in the first place.  At IBM, we’d call this root cause analysis – or the “five why’s” in six-sigma lingo.  St. Ignatius calls it the examen.  Note to self – nightly examination of conscience.

Final note – praying always is, by definition, never done.  It can only be lived.  Pray always and when the Son of Man comes, he will certainly find faith in you.