PRAYER – A PRIME OPPORTUNITY TO EXTEND THE POWER OF PRESENCE
At times, we can be overwhelmed by all that we feel we have to do. This happens as the strength of our connectedness with others weakens. As one of us, our Lord Himself experienced this in relation to His Apostles. He could read their hearts and minds. Right after the Last Supper, He expressed to them that they would flee and forsake Him and that Peter would deny Him three times. Sensing how fickle His close friends would be no doubt contributed significantly to His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As one of us, our Lord desperately needed the power of a supporting presence to be up to the painful ordeal of His forthcoming Suffering and Death. So much in need of a supporting presence was our Lord and given the fact that this was not there for Him in the garden, we are told that an angel from heaven came to give Him strength.
Let’s also not overlook the fact that after the ordeal in the Garden of Gethsemane, there were persons who were there for Him to the bitter end of His life, namely His Mother Mary, the Apostle John, Mary Magdalene and a few others. None of these could take away the reality of His Suffering and Death, but their presence enabled our Lord to be faithful to what He was called to do until He died.
Such is the power of presence. At times, we have all experienced this. From time to time, we can be overwhelmed by all that comes our way. Perhaps what is expected of us at school or at work is more than we can handle. An injury or a setback in our health can tie us down. Unforeseen expenses can be very frightening. We can be devastated when persons on whom we’ve counted for so many things are no longer there for us.
We experience the Presence and working of the Lord in persons who are there for us in a timely manner in situations such as these. It’s not that they can take away the burdens with which we have to live. Somehow the Lord works through their caring presence to change us. Our way of facing that which is before us is significantly lightened. Somehow, we are renewed to carry on with a lighthearted, upbeat spirit.
Believe it or not, the most important role that we have in relation to others is that of offering to them our timely prayerful presence. At times, our Lord-directed presence far outweighs what we can do for others.
Prayer enables us to EXTEND the Lord’s caring Presence through ourselves for others. There are times when we cannot be physically present to persons who are hurting. Through our prayers for them, we can be present for them even when we are physically away from them. When my dad died, there were many people who were not able to come to his funeral. And yet, I could powerfully sense the prayers of so many people in our Diocese for him and for our family. This really buoyed me up. Even when circumstances separate us from persons for whom we care, we can be present to and for one another through prayer.
If this is to happen, we need to make time and room in our lives, both to open ourselves to the awareness of others who are praying for us as well as to pray for specific others on a regular basis. As we are open to grow in these ways, even though we may live apart from those for whom we pray, we will not be separated from them. In praying for one another, we are offered the ability to empower one another to face each day with a spirit of gratitude, confidence and hope.
Sincerely yours in Christ,