There is a common but sad truth about prayer in so many people throughout the world. Many people do not have the urge to pray, and unless they have some struggle in life that they are experiencing, they will not be regular in their prayer life. It’s much like healthcare given by a doctor in a clinic. Yes, they are astute and skilled in their jobs, and patients will only go to them if they are in some need of medical care or if they have some medically concerned problems. Otherwise, the existence of the clinics are just there, but for the most part, they are there only for the few needy people. No one goes to the doctor just to pop in their heads and say “hello doctor!”.
I use this clinic experience to emphasize the point that for many people, unless there is a pressing spiritual problem that only God can help, they will not be praying with any regularity. For many of the faithful, prayer is generally based on feelings or sentiments. If I feel close to God, it will be good and rightful for me to pray. Otherwise, I will be wasting my time and God’s time as well. So, in this sense, many are saying that prayer has a utilitarian aspect.
This is only true if prayer is looked at with one main utilitarian purpose. Prayer is man’s way of manifesting our love for God. Our prayer demonstrates to God that we love him, and this love is one that has to be unconditional. If we are happy and contented with life, we love God. And if our lives are filled with anxieties and afflictions of all sorts, our love for God is not negatively affected. And this is because God’s love for us in unconditional and unwavering. Jesus Christ became man to show this in the most astounding way through His life, death and resurrection.
Of course, our lives are not going to be great and wonderful every single day. Inevitably, we will encounter things that will affect our peace and our contentment. Our sustained prayer needs to be consistent and regular, because our love for God too, has to be consistent and regular.
When we understand this, then our prayer and its regularity will not be wavering and dependent on feelings or sentiments. It has to be based on a decision to love. And if this is true for God and our love for Him, it also has to be true for a married couple’s love for each other in the realm of married love. A spouse’s love for the partner in marriage has to be a decision, and not something that is dependent of feelings, sentiments or emotions. And it is because marital love is often based and dependent of feelings and sentiments, they begin to fall out of love for each other the moment those romantic feelings of courtship days become just a figment of one’s memory.
And this is one of the reasons why the Catholic Church has a mandatory Mass attendance every Sunday. Not all Catholics feel so holy and pious every Sunday that they bring themselves to Mass.
Just showing up is our way of conveying our love and devotion to God. If God wills it, he will shower His grace upon us when we are at the Eucharistic celebration on Sunday. But even if He doesn’t, our faithful turning up at Mass on Sunday is itself a testimony of our unwavering love for Him.
So, when it comes to prayer, let it not be dependent on our feelings and pious sentiments. Just showing up regularly speaks for itself.
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