Daily Reflection on prayer

Daily Reflection: This reflection uses the book of Mark 9:14-29.

In this reading we hear about the story of when Jesus healed a person who was "possessed by a mute spirit". This story also shares an important point that the apostles were unable to cure this man AND the only person who knew how to cure the man was Jesus.

This story gives us great witness of what we need to do when we are faced with sickness, which is to call God, in prayer, for healing. However, there is much more to this story. See, the apostles could not cure the person, because well, they didn't know much about their relationship to God. Jesus' ministry taught us how to pray and just like anything new, we tend to undershoot or overshoot the skill, meaning that the apostles really did not know how to pray. They instead; relied on their own merit and not God's and the way to ask for assistances is through prayer. We see this in the last verse which says, "Why could we [,the apostles,] not drive it out? He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer." (29)

Knowing when to pray takes practice. However, prayer is also simple. Prayer can be done before when even leaves their bedroom in the morning or done before they go to sleep. One of my favorite practices of prayer takes place during the times I am not talking to another. For example, like walking down the street is a perfect time to pray.

As you develop your prayer life, you may feel called to develop a schedule time of prayer. Many people develop of a certain time in, for example, the chapel. Others like to spend time in prayer in their homes before leaving to work.

Whatever your schedule is like, you can find time for prayer. There are varieties of ways to pray and varieties of times to pray. Pick a time each day when you can talk to God because in order to do the impossible, we need to listen and talk with God.