Missionaries of the Sacred

February 5 — Reflection:

The surrender of our self-will in prayer and in daily life is central to union with God and the healing of our spirit. This kind of prayer is not simply entering into ourselves. When we do that we may find only ourselves. Finding one­self may be a source of insanity rather than of spirituality, which is one of the great hazards of self-seeking contemplation. It is far better to enter into God's self, to discover God's mind and heart. God, of course, is the One who draws us, and in truth, it is he who enters us.

Learning to pray with a heart that is truly open to the will of God takes much practice. Our natural instincts will reassert themselves again and again until we have acquired a habit of putting God's will first in our prayer. We need to remember that it is God's will that we obtain all that is truly good for us. That can happen only when our “self” does not get in the way.

Prayer:

When I pray, Lord, guard me from seeking experiences or my own will rather than your truth and your will. Let no idol, however splen­did and spiritual, distract me from seeking only you. You alone are my way and my goal.