Wenesde, February 17, 2021
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But when you dey pray, enter your inner room, close di door, and pray to your Father for secret. And your Father wey dey see wetin dey happen for secret go reward you. Matthew 6:6
One of di most important things about true prayer na say e dey happen deep inside di inner room of your soul. Na there, deep inside your being, you go meet God. Saint Teresa of Ávila, one of di greatest spiritual writers for di history of our Church, describe di soul as castle wey God dey live inside. To meet Am, pray to Am and share close fellowship with Am, we need to enter di room wey deep pass all inside dis castle of our soul. Na there, for di innermost room, we go discover di full glory and beauty of God.
God no be just God wey dey “out there,” far away for Heaven. Na God wey near us and close to us pass wetin we fit ever imagine. Lent na time, pass any other time for di year, when we must try hard to make dat journey enter inside ourself, so dat we go discover how di Most Holy Trinity dey live inside us.
Wetin God want from you dis Lent? E easy to start Lent with commitments wey no really go deep, like to stop to chop food wey you like well-well or to do one extra good deed. Some people choose to use Lent as time to make dia body fit better, and others decide to give more time to spiritual reading or other holy practices. All dis things good and dem get use. But you fit dey sure say wetin our Lord want for you pass all dis Lent na make you pray.
Of course, prayer pass just to dey recite prayers. No be only to pray di rosary, or to meditate on Scripture, or to recite prayers wey dem compose well. For di deepest sense, prayer na relationship with God. Na encounter with God wey be Three Persons for One, wey dey live inside you. True prayer na act of love between you and di One wey you love. Na to give unaself to each other: your life for God own life. Prayer na act of union and fellowship wey make us become one with God and God become one with us.
Di great mystics don teach us say prayer get many levels. Many times, we dey start by reciting prayers, like di beautiful prayer of di rosary. From there, we dey meditate, think and reflect deeply on di mysteries of our Lord and Im life. We come know Am more fully and, small-small, we discover say no be only to think about God we dey do again, but we dey gaze at Am face to face.
As we dey begin di holy season of Lent, reflect on how you dey pray. If di pictures of prayer wey we don show here make you want know more, then make firm commitment to discover more. Give yourself to di work of discovering God through prayer. Di depth wey God want draw you enter through prayer no get limit and no get end. True prayer no dey ever bore person. When you discover true prayer, you discover di mystery of God wey no get end. And dis discovery get glory pass anything wey you fit ever imagine for life.
My divine Lord, I give myself to You dis Lent. Draw me enter deep inside so dat I go know You more. Show me Your divine presence wey dey live deep inside me and dey call me to Yourself. My dear Lord, make dis Lent full of glory as my love and devotion dey grow stronger through di gift of true prayer wey I dey discover. Jesus, na You I trust.
40 Days for di Foot of di Cross: Introduction
Gaze of Love from di Heart of Our Blessed Mother
More Reflections on the Gospel
Reflection Dem about God im Mercy
Scripture Meditation Dem for Lent
Read More – Ash Wednesday
Main picture wey dey above: Saint Teresa of Avila for front of di Crucifix
