I spent the day on Saturday with about 800 teens from across the Midwest as we celebrated World Youth Day Chicago – A Midwest Celebration. It was an amazing day filled with energy, faith, and prayer. I was so blessed to have been able to be the emcee and give a workshop to such wonderful, faith-filled teens. The young church is certainly a powerful force!
We talked about how all of us are called to be disciples of Jesus. But the question always comes up, what does it take to become a disciple? I have broken it down to three steps:
- You have to show up (or have a relationship with God)
- You have to step up (and follow Jesus’ teachings)
- You have to step out (and commit to your calling)
So what does all of this have to do with today’s Mass readings? Well, it all falls within step one: to show up. You have to have a relationship with God before you can do anything else. We need to put Jesus first in our lives and focus everything else around him. We have to make time to pray, plain and simple. I often hear people say, “I just don’t have time to pray. I’m so busy.” I’ll be honest with you – there is ALWAYS time to pray, if you commit to making time to do it. One can pray while they’re in the shower in the morning, while driving to work or school, during the day during a break period, on your way home from work or school, or before you go to bed. You just have to make the time to do it, and then actually do it.
“Everyone needs half an hour our prayer each day, unless we are busy – then we need an hour. ~St. Francis de Sales
Wise words, indeed. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. This only happens when we take time to pray. And prayer isn’t just about asking God for what we want. We need to leave plenty of time to listen to him speak to us. That is the true essence of prayer. It is about submitting our whole selves over to God, knowing that God knows our needs better than we do.
If we never gain anything from prayer except for the opportunity to grow closer to God, then that is enough for us.
I encourage you to seize the day. Make a commitment to start praying today, or to pray more frequently. Once you firmly establish your relationship with God, all other aspects of your life will fall into place.
If we make it a priority to show up, step up and step out, I guarantee that your life will change in a most remarkable way.
