Andrew Donnelly, O.Carm.
1. For the early Fathers of the Church, prayer is a golden chain stretching from heaven to earth, along which heavenly benefits descend to us and by which we must ascend to God. They call prayer the key of heaven, the salvation of souls, the fountain of all virtues, a knowledge above all knowledge, the arm and protection against our enemies, the growth of grace and the mother of life. St. Chrysostom says that we can make no greater progress in virtue than by means of incessant prayer and conversation with God. For through prayer the heart receives such wonderful power that it begins to disdain the vanity of the world, uniting itself with God and becoming transformed in Him,
Frequent conversation with learned men soon leads to earthly wisdom and learning; so also, but to a much greater extent, does conversation with God lead to heavenly wisdom and knowledge. St. John Climacus compares prayer to a bridge over temptation by which we conquer the enemy. St. Augustine asks : «What is more sublime in all our religion than prayer?” And elsewhere we read, “Just as no one can be saved without God's help, so no one can receive His help without prayer.”
2. From this it is clear that prayer is necessary for salvation. God does not usually give His help and graces to those who come to the use of reason until He has been asked for it, so that we might realise that all good conies from His Divine Majesty. St. Thomas and some of the Fathers teach that God has allowed the conversion of many souls and their progress to depend from all eternity on the prayers of others. And on this point we may quote St. Augustine: “Had Stephen not prayed the Church would never have had Paul.” St. Teresa describes prayer as a kingly way to heaven without which the soul is like a paralyzed body no longer able to move its limbs. In the book of her life she tells us that it was a great blessing for her that she did not give up prayer and spiritual reading, otherwise she might have lost her soul. She makes it clear to us that prayer is the means to regain what has been lost, and she declares from her own experience that no matter how many sins we may commit, we should never forsake prayer as the means by which to amend our lives; without prayer amendment will be much more difficult. To those who have not begun to pray she begs that for the love of the Lord they do not miss so great a blessing. If a soul perseveres in prayer despite sins and temptations put in its way by the devil, the Lord will help it. In the Way of Perfection she has a long and excellent treatment of the subject, telling us how advantageous and necessary prayer is for us and how fatal and dangerous it is to leave off this exercise.
If all the vaults of heaven were to become paper and all the waters of the earth were to change to ink, they would still be insufficient to set down all the advantages and profits to be gained from prayer.
3.Because of the tremendous power of prayer the devil does all he can to lead us away from it. St. Niles declares that in all the trouble he gives us the devil has no other purpose than to keep us from praying. He knows well that prayer is the best defense against evil, and that it brings good to those who persevere in it. It is the spring, the root and the mother of all virtues, an invincible protection against the tricks and snares of the devil who thinks himself the richer if he takes it away from us.
4. Since prayer is so important and necessary for our salvation, he who wishes to be saved must exercise it with zeal. Let no one think that he need not pray on the pretence of having no time. There are twenty-four hours in each day. Must we spend them all in eating and drinking and sleeping, working only for the body and this transient life? The salvation of our soul is of much greater importance than the well-being of our body. If we really want it, we will find the time for prayer and conversation with God about our salvation.
