The
Seventh Precept, Which is on Prayer
HITHERTO we have spoken on the precepts of dying well, taken from the
three theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity; and also we have spoken on
the three moral virtues, sobriety, justice, and piety, all of which the blessed
apostle Paul recommends to us. I will now add another precept on the three good
works, prayer, fasting, and almsdeeds, which we learn from the angel Raphael.
We read in the book of Tobias, that the angel Raphael thus spoke: "Prayer
is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold."
(chap. xii. 8.) These three good works are the fruit of the virtues of
religion, mercy, and temperance, which have a great affinity with piety,
justice, and sobriety. For as piety regards God, justice our neighbour, and
sobriety ourselves, so also prayer, which is an act of religion, regards God;
almsdeeds, which is an act of mercy, regards our neighbour; and fasting, which
is an act of abstinence, regards ourself. Of prayer may be written much, but
according to the nature of our treatise, we will only dwell on three points:
the necessity of prayer; the advantage of it; and the method of praying with
advantage. The necessity of prayer is so often insisted upon in the Holy
Scripture, that nothing is more clearly commanded than this duty. For although
the Almighty knoweth what we stand in need of, as our Lord himself tells us in
St. Matthew, yet He wishes that we should ask for what we require, and by
prayer lay hold of it, as if by spiritual hands or some suitable instrument.
Hear our Lord in St. Luke: "That we ought always to pray, and not to
faint;" and also, "Watch ye therefore, praying at all times."
(chap. xviii. and xxi.) Hear the apostle: "Pray without ceasing," and
Ecclesiasticus, "Let nothing hinder thee from praying always."
(xviii.)
These precepts do not signify that we should do nothing else, but only
that we should never forget so wholesome an exercise, and should frequently
make use of it. This is what our Lord and his apostles have taught us, for they
did not always pray in such a manner as to neglect preaching to the people, and
confirming their words by signs and wonders; and yet it might be said they always
were praying, because they prayed very frequently. In this sense must be
understood these words: "My eyes are ever towards the Lord;" and
also, "His praise shall always be in my mouth;" and the words
concerning the apostle, "And they were always in the temple, praising and
blessing God."
But the "fruits" of prayer are three especial advantages;
merit, satisfaction, and impetration. On the merit of prayer we have the
testimony of Christ himself in the gospel: "And when ye pray, you shall
not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and
corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen, I say to you, they
have received their reward. But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy
chamber, and having shut the doors, pray to thy Father in secret, and thy
Father who seeth in secret will repay thee." (St. Matthew, vi. 5, 6.) By
these words our Lord does not forbid us praying in a public place, for He
himself prayed publicly before he raised Lazarus, but He forbids public prayer
when it is done that we may be seen praying by many, and this through
vain-glory: other wise we may pray in the temple, and there find a
"chamber" for our heart, and in it pray to God "in secret,"
The words "will repay thee," signify the merit; for, as He said of
the Pharisee, "he has received his reward," that is, human praise; so
of one who prays in the chamber of his heart, and who looks to God alone, we
must understand that to him will be given a reward by his Father "who
seeth in secret."
Respecting satisfaction for past sins, we all know the practice of the
Church, by which when satisfaction is enjoined, prayer is united with fasting
and almsdeeds; nay, very often almsdeeds and fasting are omitted, and prayer
alone commanded.
In fine, that prayer can obtain many gifts, St. John Chrysostom
beautifully teaches us in his " two books" on Prayer, in which he
employs the comparison of the human hands. For as man is born naked and
helpless, and in want of all things, and vet cannot complain of his Creator,
because He has given him hands, which are the organ of organs, and by which he
is enabled to provide for himself food, garments, house, &c.; so also the
spiritual man can do nothing without the divine .assistance; but he possesses
the power of prayer, the organ of all spiritual organs, whereby he can easily
provide for himself all things.
Besides these three primary advantages of prayer, there are also many
others. For, in the first place, prayer enlightens the mind; man cannot
directly fix the eye of his soul upon God, who is the light, without being
enlightened by Him. "Come ye to him and be enlightened" saith David.
Secondly, prayer nourishes our hope and confidence; for the oftener we speak
with another, the more confidently do we approach to him. Thirdly, it inflames
our charity, and makes our soul more capable of receiving greater gifts, as St.
Augustine affirms. Fourthly, it increases humility and chaste fear, for he who
goes to prayer, acknowledges that he is a beggar before God, and therefore humbles
himself before Him, and is most careful not to offend Him, of whose assistance
he stands in need in everything. Fifthly, prayer produces in our mind a
contempt of all earthly goods; for all temporal objects must appear mean and
contemptible in the eyes of him who continually meditates on things spiritual
and eternal. (See St. Augustine, (Lib. ix. Confess)) Sixthly, prayer gives us
incredible delight, since by it we begin to taste how sweet is the Lord. And
how great this sweetness is, we may understand from this circumstance alone,
that some I have known pass not only nights, but even whole days and nights in
prayer, without any trouble or inconvenience. In fine, besides the utility and
the pleasure, prayer also adds dignity and honour to us. For even the angels
themselves honour that soul which they see is so often and so familiarly
admitted, to speak with the divine Majesty.
We will now speak on the method of praying well, in which chiefly
consists the Art of living well, and consequently the Art of dying well. For
what our Lord says, "Ask and it shall be given to you, for every one that
asketh, receiveth;" St. James, in his epistle, declares it to be
understood with the condition, if we ask properly. "You ask and receive
not, because you ask amiss." (chap, iv.) We may reason then as follows: he
who properly asks for the gift of living well, will doubtless receive it; and
he who properly asks for perseverance in a good life until death, and by this a
happy death also, will certainly obtain it. We will, therefore, briefly explain
the conditions of prayer, that so we may learn how to pray well, live well, and
die well.
The first condition is faith, according to the words of the apostle,
"How then shall they call upon him, in whom they have not believed?"
and with this St. James agrees, "Let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering." But this necessity of faith is not so to be understood, as if
it were necessary to believe that God would certainly grant what we ask, for
thus our faith would often prove false, and we should therefore obtain nothing.
We must believe, then, that God is most powerful, most wise, most High, and
most faithful; and therefore that He knows, and that He can and is prepared to
do what we beg, of Him, if He shall think proper, and it be expedient for us to
receive what we ask. This faith Christ required of the two blind men who
desired to be cured; "Do you believe, that I can do this unto you?"
With the same faith did David pray for his sick son; for his words prove, that
he believed not for certain that God would grant his request, but only that He
could grant it; "Who knoweth whether the Lord may not give him to me, and
the child may live?" It cannot be doubted but that with the same faith the
apostle Paul prayed to be delivered from the "sting of the flesh,"
since he prayed with faith, and his faith would have been false if he believed
that God would certainly grant what at that time he asked; for he did not then
obtain his request. And with the same faith does the Church pray, that all heretics,
pagans, schismatics, and bad Christians may be converted to penance; and yet it
is certain they are not all converted. Concerning which matter consult St.
Prosper in his books "On the Vocation of the Gentiles."
Another condition of prayer, and that a very necessary one, is hope or
confidence. For although we must not by faith, which is a work of the
understanding, imagine that God will certainly grant our requests, yet by hope,
which is an act of the will, we may firmly rely upon the divine goodness, and certainly
hope that God will give us what we ask for. This condition our Lord required of
the paralytic, to whom He said, "Be of good heart, son, thy sins are
forgiven thee." The same the apostle requires of all, when he says,
"Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace;" and
long before him, the prophet thus introduces God, saying, "Because he hath
hoped in me, I will deliver him." But because hope springs from perfect
faith, therefore when the Scripture requires faith in great things, it adds
something regarding hope; hence we read in St. Mark, "Amen I say to you,
that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed and be cast into the
sea, and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe that whatsoever he saith
shall be done; it shall be done unto him: " of which faith producing
confidence, are to be understood the words of the apostle; " If I should
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, & c. Hence, John Cassian
writes in his Treatise on Prayer, that it is a certain sign of our request
being granted, when in prayer we hope that God will certainly give us what we
ask; and when in our petitions we do not in any way hesitate, but pour forth in
prayers with spiritual joy.
A third condition is charity or justice, by which we are delivered from
our sins; for none but the friends of God obtain the gifts of God. Thus David
speaks in the Psalms: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just; and his
ears unto their prayers: " and in another place, " If I have looked
at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
And in the New Testament our Lord himself says: " If you abide in
me, and my words (precepts) abide in you, - you shall ask whatsoever you will,
and it shall be done unto you." And the beloved disciple saith:
"Dearly beloved, if our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence
towards God: and whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him; because we
keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his
sight." (1 Epist. of St. John iii. 21, 22.) This is not contrary to the
doctrine, that when the publican asked of God the forgiveness of his sins, he
returned home "justified;" for a penitent sinner does not obtain his
request as a sinner, but as a penitent; for as a sinner he is the enemy of God;
as a penitent, the friend of God. He that commits sin, does what is not
pleasing unto God; but he who repents of his sins, does what is most pleasing
to Him. A fourth condition is humility, by which he that prays, confides not in
his own justice, but in the goodness of God: "But to whom shall I have
respect, but to him that is poor and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that
trembleth at my words?" (Isaias lxvi. 2.) And Ecclesiasticus adds:
"The prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the clouds: and
till it come nigh he will not be comforted: and he will not depart till the
Most High behold." (xxxv. 21.)
A fifth condition is devotion, by which we pray not negligently, as
many are accustomed to do, but with attention, earnestness, diligence, and
fervour: our Lord severely blames those who pray with their lips only; thus He
speaks by Isaiah: "This people draw near me with their mouth, and with
their lips glorify me; but their heart is far from me." (xxix. 13.) This
virtue springs from a lively faith, and consists not in habit alone, but in
deed. For he who attentively and with a firm faith considers how great is the
Majesty of God, how great our nothingness, and how important those things are
we ask for, cannot possibly help praying with the greatest humility, reverence,
devotion, and fervour. We shall here add powerful testimonies from two of the
holy fathers. St. Jerome in his Dialogues against the Luciferians, says:
"I commence prayer: I should not pray, if I did not believe; but if I had
true faith, this heart, which God sees, I would cleanse; I would strike my
breast: I would water my cheeks with my tears: I would neglect all attention to
my body and become pale; I would throw myself at the feet of my Lord, and wash
them with my weeping, and wipe them with my hair: I would clasp the cross, and
not depart before I had obtained mercy. Now most frequently during my prayers,
I am walking either along the porticos, or am counting my usury; or being
carried away by evil thought; I entertain those things which it is shameful to
speak of. Where is our faith? Do we suppose that Jonas prayed thus? The three
children? Daniel in the lions den? Or the good thief on the cross?"
St. Bernard, in his Sermon on the Four Methods
of Praying, thus writes "It especially behoves us, during the time of
prayer, to enter the heavenly chamber that chamber I mean, in which the King of
kings sitteth on his royal throne, surrounded by an innumerable and glorious
army of blessed spirits. With what reverence then, with what fear, with what humility,
ought dust and ashes to approach, we who are nothing but vile creeping insects!
With what trembling, earnestness, care, and solicitude, ought miserable man to
stand before the divine Majesty, in presence of the angels, in the assembly of
the just? In all our actions then, we have much need of vigilance, especially
in prayer." The sixth condition is perseverance, which our Lord in two
parables has recommended in St. Luke; the first is concerning him who went in
the night to a friend to ask for the loan of two loaves; who being refused
because of the unseasonable hour, yet by perseverance obtained his request.
(St. Luke xi.) The second is concerning the widow who besought the judge to
free her from her adversary; and the judge, although a very bad man, and one
that feared neither God nor man, yet being overcome by the perseverance and
importunity of the woman, he delivered her from her adversary. From these
examples our Lord concludes, that much more ought we to persevere in prayer to
God, because He is just and merciful. And, as St. James adds: "He giveth
to all abundantly, and upbraideth not;" that is, hegives liberally to all
who ask His gifts; and He " upbraideth not" their importunity, should
they be too troublesome in their importunities; for God has no measure in His
riches nor in His mercy. St. Augustine, in his explanation of the last verse of
Psalm lxv. adds these words: "If thou shalt see that thy prayer is not
rejected, thou art secure, because his mercy is not removed from thee."
taken from the Art of Dying Well, by Saint Robert Bellarmine
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
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