Praying is also hearing: hearing God. Praying is not only begging and asking. It is recollection and silence. We have to pray loving God: trying to find his Will in order to accept it and fulfill it. Better that asking for this or that, is saying to God: here I am, Lord, ready to accept and do whatever you have for me.
It is not mere chance that God's mandate to Moses begins with the word “hear”: Hear O Israel (Dt. 6, 4). And this is so because in order to live the Word of God and his mandates, it is not enough to ask: it is necessary to hear. We have to listen to God. We should pray, listening. In so doing we let the Word of God sink in and become life within us, so that we fulfill the Will of God at every moment of our life.
Listening in prayer is so important in order to do God’s Will, that Jesus himself tells us: “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 7, 21).
There is no need, then, to pray always asking and begging. We should love when we pray. But … how can we pray loving God? To love is to give of oneself. We should then pray trying to give ourselves to God. And what is to give oneself to God? It means surrendering ourselves to the plans He has for our life. It means accepting and trying to fulfill His Will in everything. That is what love is all about.
Instead of asking for this or that in prayer, it would be better to simply tell God: here I am, Lord, I want to do your Will, I want to accept and do whatever you have designed for my life. I want to follow your path. Here I am, Lord, ready to accept and do whatever you have for me.
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