What Should I Pray For?

One of the first prayers I say each morning begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace, …”  I think in my heart I am saying “use me, Lord, to do Thy will.”  It is surely a good prayer, and reflects the humility I pray for each night.  But something else dawned on my today:  My prayer emphasized “instrument”, and implied being used in ways that perhaps I didn’t understand.  I know that is a good prayer, especially for me who so readily conceives of solutions to problems, and often thinks those solutions are best --- reflecting my pride.  But this morning I noticed a different word of that prayer: “peace”.  Not just any instrument, but specifically “an instrument of Thy peace.”

Being used as His instrument is overcoming my pride to proceed with His solution.  It is a good and needed prayer, and during the day I often pray: “Lord, what would You have me do (or say) in this situation?”  A good prayer for me, a saying of “not my will but Thy will be done.”  But, that word, “peace, …”

I’ve read some reflections and Gospels in recent days which emphasize that God that lives in each and every person.  They urged us to not focus on our anger or pride in dealing with people we meet ---- (“but their ideas are stupid and I have to convince them of the truth I know, so ….)”  Our dealings with others should not be focused on proving our point or trying to get them to understand our argument.  Especially in conversations on faith, OUR heart, OUR focus should not be on a discussion topic or viewpoint, our focus should be on the person before us, seeing him as God sees him, as His child.  Being an “instrument of Thy peace” means bringing the peace of Christ to the people we meet.  Yes, we can be His instrument in that He can inspire us in what to do and say --- and we should be open to that --- but if we are an “instrument of Thy peace” we also come with an attitude of not winning a point, but of meeting with a child of Christ.  That attitude of His peace is what I need to consider and reflect on more.  So often I meet with someone and bring my attitude or my thoughts, and I want to speak of them, but now I see that prayer I pray each morning says First:  Lord, let me bring YOUR attitude.  I think if I can do that, well, my prayer will have been truly answered.

Sometimes we pray, and don’t really reflect on what we are praying for, and what it means if we get it:  God will have intervened in our life.  That is a big thing.  Think of all the huge events of the Old Testament when God intervened.  We need to pray with humility, in asking the God of all creation for what WE want.  And perhaps we shouldn’t even ask for anything, but only pray that we can help do what He wants.

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I am praying a novena each night for God’s mercy on our country --- having no pre-suppositions on what that might entreat.  I trust in God.  But I do see the heavily biased and hateful relations among peoples in our country, and so perhaps as I pray my morning prayer to be “an instrument of Thy peace” I might be opening myself up to be some small part of that evening prayer, to be part of the mercy I pray to God for.

I heard a talk this afternoon on EWTN which stressed that we need a unity of all, an embracing of the other as good, noting the dignity of the human person as a truth, not an opinion.

“Unity requires truth to work.  Unity is from God.”

“That they all might be one, as You and I, Father, are one.”