John Bartunek - Answers: Catholic Advice for Your Spiritual Questions

In todays world, which is so fast-paced, noisy, and distracting, its more important than ever to carve out quiet time to be alone with God, to reflect on the deep Catholic truths that nourish our souls. Its no longer enough simply to attend Mass on Sundayat least, not if we really want to reach maturity in our Christian lives. Society no longer supports Christian values or worldview as it once did, so we need to intentionally create space for the Holy Spirit to give us the support we need directly. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran in prayer, if you sincerely want to go deeper in your prayer life, I hope the answers in this chapter will prove useful to you.

How Can I Hear God Speaking to Me in Prayer?

The phrase conversation with God describes Christian prayer beautifully. Christ has revealed that God is a real person, and that he is interestedpassionately interestedin our lives, our friendship, our closeness. For Christians then, prayer, as Pope Benedict explained when he visited Yonkers, New York, in 2007, is an expression of our personal relationship with God. And that relationship, the Holy Father went on to say, is what matters most.

Parameters of Faith

When we pray, God speaks to us. First of all, though, we need to remember that our relationship with God is based on faith. Faith gives us access to knowledge that goes beyond what we can perceive by our senses. By faith, for example, we know that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, even though our senses only perceive the appearances of bread and wine. Whenever a Christian prays, the prayer takes place within this atmosphere of faith.

When I address God in vocal prayer, I know that he is listening to me, even if I dont feel his presence with my senses or emotions. When I praise him, ask things of him, adore him, thank him, tell him I am sorryin all these expressions of prayer, I know by faith (not necessarily by my senses or my feelings) that God is listening, interested, and that he cares. If we try to understand Christian prayer outside of this atmosphere of faith, we will get nowhere.

Keeping that in mind, lets look at the three ways God speaks to us in prayer.

1. The Gift of Consolation

First of all, God can speak to us by giving us what spiritual writers call consolation . Through consolation, he touches the soul and allows it to be comforted and strengthened by a felt awareness of his love, his presence, his goodness, his power, and his beauty.

This consolation can flow directly from the meaning of the words of a vocal prayer. For instance, when I pray Blessed Cardinal Newmans famous Lead, Kindly Light prayer, God may boost my hope and confidence, simply because the meaning of the words nourish and revitalize my awareness of Gods power and goodness.

Consolation can also flow from the reflection and pondering involved in mental prayer. As I read and reflect slowly, prayerfully on the parable of the Prodigal Son, for example, I can feel my soul being comforted by that picture of the Father embracing the repentant younger brother. That picture of Gods love comes to my mind, and it gives me a renewed awareness of Gods mercy and goodness. God is so merciful! I think to myself, and I feel the warmth of his mercy in my heart. That image and those ideas are mine, insofar as they arise in my mind, but they are from God, insofar as they arose in response to my consideration of Gods revelation , in an atmosphere of faith.