PRAYER: A SIGN OF GOD’S INITIATIVE.
A GIFT FROM GOD.
“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.”[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2560 citing St. Augustine, De diversis quaestionibus octoginta tribus 64,4:PL 40, 56)]
“Prayer is a sign of God’s initiative, who goes out in search of us and waits for our response to make us his friends. Sometimes it can seem that we are the ones who take the initiative to dedicate time to prayer, but in reality it is a response to God’s call. Prayer is in truth a reciprocal call: God seeks me and waits for me, and I need God and seek Him […] when we allow ourselves to be drawn by our Lord into a contemplative dialogue, we discover that prayer is not something that I do for God, but above all a gift that God gives me and that I simply welcome.
Devoting time to our Lord is not just one more job on a to-do list, or another burden on an already demanding schedule. It is rather the acceptance of an infinitely valuable gift, a precious pearl or hidden treasure amid our normal daily life that we need to care for lovingly.”
Excerpt from “The Paths of Contemplation.” Read more here.