Address the prayers to God

In chapter 12 of the Acts of the Apostles, there is mention of an intense prayer before God, who achieved great results. Verse 5 of this chapter describes in a few words the mode and method of this prayer : "The Church never ceased to pray for him for God".

The first thing to note in this verse is the phrase "to God". The prayer that has power is that which is addressed to God. "But, some people will say, is not every prayer addressed to God ?".

No. Many public or private prayers are not offered to God. For a prayer to truly be offered to God, we must, in a positive and conscious way, come closer to God when we pray. We need to be positive and keenly aware that God is looking at us and listening to us as we pray.

Now, in many of our prayers, the thought of God only really comes in for a very small part. Our mind is absorbed by the things we need and not by the thought of the powerful and tender Father whose response we expect. Often even our thoughts wander here and there throughout the world. There is no power in this kind of prayer. But when we enter totally into the presence of God, when we actually meet him face to face in prayer, when it is really from him that we seek to obtain the object of our requests, then there is power.

If, therefore, we want to pray in the right way, we must first of all ensure that we really have an audience with God, access to his very presence. Before sending any request to God, we must be clearly and keenly aware that it is to him that we address ourselves. We must believe that he is listening and willing to give us the thing we ask him. This is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit : so it is to the Holy Spirit that we must look to truly lead us into the presence of God. So let us not hasten to open our mouths before he has actually taken us there.

Jeremy Sourdril