without God’s grace. Since, therefore, God has decreed to give His special help only to those who seek it, prayer becomes a necessity, if we are to save our souls. “He who prays,” says St. Alphonsus, “will certainly be saved; he who does not, will certainly be damned.”
The Simplicity of Prayer
PEOPLE often find it difficult to pray because they have an exaggerated notion of prayer, not really understanding what it means and erroneously believing that it consists in very lofty thoughts, which must be expressed in correspondingly elevated words and sentences; whereas the very opposite is the truth. How simple are the Our Father and the Hail Mary! How unaffected the thoughts and the words of the centurion, the leper, the blind man, and others mentioned in the Gospel, who sought help from our Lord and were heard!
Neither is it necessary for a prayer to be long to be perfect; it need not be said in any particular place or at any special time; nor need it be said kneeling, or standing. We may turn our hearts to God at all times, in all places, and in any posture of body, whether we be in the street or in the church, at home or abroad; and this is not only prayer, but devout prayer.
How to Pray Well
PRAYER means simple, loving converse between the soul and God, as between a child and
