Prayer is the most important work a soul can do. A person can set out to do some good work, but his work will be lacking unless he prays; even the smallest good act will be lacking unless he prays, because it is only by residing in Jesus do our works become good and therefore it is faith and works by which Christ Jesus justifies us and not simply by faith or simply by works, but by both.
Prayer is no small work, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. If a person feels called to a life of prayer then this is a great gift from God, a very great gift indeed and isn’t to be seen by others as that soul is not ‘doing much’. These little hidden souls of prayer in Jesus are what uphold the world in Jesus. By their prayer they invite God into the world and make Him manifest daily according to His will and in His Providence. Daily these little souls call upon the Divine assistance and by prayer sanctify the world.
So if they make a cup of tea, they do it with prayer and great love and this small act may be used by God for the sanctification of their soul and the souls of others. Did you ever wash the dishes for a week and offer it as a prayer for the Holy Souls in purgatory, or did you ever mow the lawn and offer it for a person close to death for mercy upon their soul, or did you ever cook a meal and offer it for the hungry in the world and unite it all to our Lord upon the Altar.
These little prayers, these many, many tiny acts done with love are similar to the hidden life of our Blessed Virgin Mother Mary, she didn’t make any long speech, she didn’t go here and there preaching, she didn’t set up a convent, or go out into the street and work a great miracle, but what she did do was stayed close to Jesus everyday in their private life together, going about together and was constantly contemplating God and praying in the little everyday things of life.
It isn’t about doing great things , it is about being faithful in small things.
There is nothing on this earth that man can do that is great and there are no great men, there are only men who humble themselves and follow Jesus and it is Jesus who does great things through them by His grace because they knew how to hide themselves in Him. They are so small they can no longer be seen, only Jesus is seen in their personality and therefore they seem ‘great’.
If we desire to do great things for God no great thing will be done. But if we desire to be small and do small things for God, great things will be done by God through the small.
It will not always be possible to know what a life of prayer has done in this world, it may only be known when a soul finally goes homes to God. But I earnestly believe that the smallest of prayers done with love will be used by God for great work. So the daily prayer, vocal, mental and work, rest and play which is prayer also may mean that God cures the dying man, truns the tide of a raging ocean, stops the bombs exploding, grants mercy to a dying soul, cures the cancer sufferer, converts souls, brings peace, gifts vocations etc etc.
Do the little things and be proud to do them as prayer for Jesus because life is made up of little things and Jesus entered this life to do the little things as well as His great work of salvation, this way He sanctified every ordinary little thing in Him.
Jesus loves the little, He loves them most dearly, more than all the rest because they don’t care about themselves, they do the little things and are happy to do so.
A person may do one great act and that may be all they have to offer to God or all they ever bothered to offer to God, but a soul may go about with Jesus all day everyday offering everything small and they will have offered more than the person who offered their great act.
Those who deem themselves least will be exalted and those who desire to be exalted or exalt themselves will be asked to go lower down.
Sit lower down, do the little things and I assure you God will do great things Tim.
In the Living Prayer of my life
. Thanks, Tim