P
Pax
Guest
I am certain that I do not suffer from ADD or any other disorder that might compromise my ability to focus and concentrate. Nevertheless, I have never been able to “always” focus and concentrate all of the time without failure. This holds true for virtually any endeavor I have ever engaged in.
My prayers are imperfect. It makes no difference what type of prayer I engage in. I cannot claim to have reached a level of prayer that in anyway approximates that of the great contemplatives. This is discouraging to me in that I hope and “pray” that the Father will grant me the grace to become better at prayer. The good news is that by God’s grace I have made progress in prayer. Likewise, I have been given the grace to persevere in prayer.
The Rosary has had an interesting effect on me. I have noticed that when I make the rosary a daily prayer all of my other efforts at prayer increase in quantity, quality, and duration. When I fail to pray the rosary for more than a few days, I find myself focusing more on myself and material things. This may be anecdotal information to some, but it is real empirical data for me.
All prayer if sincere and from the heart is good and beneficial. Even when our prayer is distracted, weak, and feeble it is heard by the Lord. I had a person express concern once about falling asleep during their evening prayer. My response was this: “What could be better than falling asleep in the arms of the Lord?”
We must be extremely cautious about judging another’s prayers. One might consider another’s prayer to be worthless and inferior to their own, when in fact they are looking at a prayer that is the equivalent to the “widow’s copper coins” in Mark 12:41-44. We should encourage one another in all forms of sincere prayer and let God judge that which is fitting in his sight.
My prayers are imperfect. It makes no difference what type of prayer I engage in. I cannot claim to have reached a level of prayer that in anyway approximates that of the great contemplatives. This is discouraging to me in that I hope and “pray” that the Father will grant me the grace to become better at prayer. The good news is that by God’s grace I have made progress in prayer. Likewise, I have been given the grace to persevere in prayer.
The Rosary has had an interesting effect on me. I have noticed that when I make the rosary a daily prayer all of my other efforts at prayer increase in quantity, quality, and duration. When I fail to pray the rosary for more than a few days, I find myself focusing more on myself and material things. This may be anecdotal information to some, but it is real empirical data for me.
All prayer if sincere and from the heart is good and beneficial. Even when our prayer is distracted, weak, and feeble it is heard by the Lord. I had a person express concern once about falling asleep during their evening prayer. My response was this: “What could be better than falling asleep in the arms of the Lord?”
We must be extremely cautious about judging another’s prayers. One might consider another’s prayer to be worthless and inferior to their own, when in fact they are looking at a prayer that is the equivalent to the “widow’s copper coins” in Mark 12:41-44. We should encourage one another in all forms of sincere prayer and let God judge that which is fitting in his sight.
