Good Resolutions, Affection and Inspiration

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THESE should be the effects if we truly have a good prayer. We would be filled with inspiration and affection and moved to make resolutions to follow and fulfill what God wants of us. We would have a purpose-driven life, not one marked by boredom, etc. To be sure, God is always intervening in our lives, prompting us to do his will and his ways.

Like the saints, martyrs and other holy people through the ages, we can manage to face and tackle whatever challenges and trials there would be in our life, and bear whatever difficulty and suffering we can encounter.

In fact, we would lose the fear of suffering and would even be welcoming to them, just as Christ himself looked forward and embraced the cross to bring about the salvation of mankind. To top it all, we can manage to do great and even impossible things. Let’s always remember that God always takes the initiative to share what he has with us. He empowers us to be like him. That’s his will for us!

We really should make our prayer real prayer, a living connection with God which is actually very possible because not only is God everywhere. He is also full of love, concern and solicitude for us and for our needs. He wants to be with us always, and to direct our life towards him. It would really be just up to us to correspond to his ever-present love for us.

We should just really learn the ropes of how to truly pray. This requires us, of course, to activate the God-given gift of faith, hope and charity, and to submit ourselves to a certain plan and discipline, so we can use all our human faculties to this most important duty of ours to pray.

We know that we are easily trapped in our earthly condition, indifferent to the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life. We have to learn how to transcend from our natural and earthly conditions, without leaving them behind, in order to enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimension of our life, since we are meant to share in the very supernatural life and divine nature of God.

Especially these days when our external and corporeal senses get so easily overstimulated that we become numb to the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life, we have to practice what Christ himself once said—that in order to follow him, we need to deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24)

We have need to disengage ourselves from time to time from our earthly concerns, turning off our corporeal senses, so to speak, if only to engage ourselves in a spiritual conversation with God and enter into the supernatural world which God shares with us.

This is what is meant to have a contemplative life which is actually meant for all of us, especially those of us in the middle of the world. This contemplative life is not meant only for some people—the nuns, priests and other consecrated persons. It’s meant for all of us.

This contemplative life can be pursued and achieved if we manage to do a daily good prayer that should fill us with good resolutions, affection and inspiration. With it, we can manage little by little to do the things of God and not just our own things, which is how our life should be.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com