Tuesday of the 23rd week in the ordinary time

Theme: A life of prayer

In the gospel reading of today, St. Luke tells us that Jesus went up the mountain to pray. When he was done, he chose his twelve Apostles from his disciples that were present. It is interesting to note that before Jesus made any important decision, he will always take time out to go and pray first, before he makes a decision. The centrality of prayer in his life is something that cannot be over-emphasized. He recognizes the fact that he needs the wisdom that comes from the Father. Remember he is also God, and can decide to go ahead with his decisions without praying for the guidance of his father, but he never did it that way. No matter how busy Jesus was, he made out time for prayer.

In the same way my brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I cannot be too busy that we have no time to pray; we cannot be busier than Jesus. Prayer is at the centre of our discipleship that is why we must always make out time to commune with the Divine. We all need to be constantly connected to the Divine; it is an opportunity for us to build a lasting relationship with God that will help us in our daily life. Each time we pray, it is a moment of encounter between us and God, an opportunity for us to invite God in a very special way into our life and everything that concerns us. The more prayerful we are, the more connected we will be with God. When this happens in our life, we can be rest assured that God will always walk with us in our journey of life.

Dearly beloved in Christ, the power of prayer in our life cannot be over-emphasized. So we have to push ourselves to make out time for prayer. It has power to change situations in our life. It is one of our weapons of warfare as children of God and as Christians. Do not allow the difficulties and challenges of life to make you forget about prayer. With prayer, the narrative of our life can change.

We pray that we will cooperate with the grace of God to be more prayerful as individuals and as a group. As you get serious in your prayer life, may almighty God bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.

Tuesday of the 23rd week in the ordinary time, by Fr. Jude Ifeanyi Ifezime, C.S.Sp