Prayer is to transform me, not God

Photo from Teacher Appreciation Week, St. Joseph's Collegiate Facebook

But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labour among you and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 

Oh man, the end of the year can be tough. But there is a lot to be thankful for. Are you thankful it is the last week? Thankful it’s June? Thankful for hockey playoffs? Or maybe that it is almost done. Who is thankful for field trips? …and exams and marking? ..and awards? ..and clean-up? Some things are easier than others to be thankful for.
 
In the reading, St. Paul is closing his letter to the Thessalonians, so as we close our school year, we can certainly take to heart his sending forth. He says: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances – for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
 
Unfortunately, he does not say: hey guys, Jesus will fix all the problems of the world, go forth, your faith will make life easy, be thankful! Looking at St. Paul’s very dramatic conversion, and then unwavering commitment to sharing the Good News we quickly see that because of it all, he suffers greatly. Imprisoned, his life threatened many times, and eventually being martyred for his faith, he still constantly writes about rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks.
 
So, what can we do with it?

Our faith is really rich and deep and rational and beautiful, and so I really like to listen to people way smarter than me to help me understand it. Every once in a while, some little nugget just sticks and constantly comes to mind. One of them this year is about prayer, and it is not profound or theologically challenging – it is actually remarkably simple. Maybe I will give the credit to Jeff Cavins – though I can’t remember who said it for sure, the point is that it’s not my originality. Are you ready?
 
Prayer is to transform me, not God.
 
I know, you already knew that. But when teaching religion and discussing prayer, and even when we share intentions for morning prayer, it is easy to see that even though we know that God is unchanging, we pray like we are working on the thesis of the most persuasive essay to convince God of our own will. God can you just… *plunk in the coin, pull the lever and see if God wants what I want today! Jackpot?
 
If God is ever-loving and unchanging and works for the good of those who love him, then right here right now, this is what God wills for my life, and yours too. This is it. Because I love him, because we love him. But in this moment do I love him with the self-sacrificing love to pray: God, thank you for this, your will in my life, right now. If love is to will the good of the other, as St. Thomas Aquinas defines it, then to love God is to will His good – his love – his will in my life.

So, because of that little nugget: Prayer transforms me, not God – I catch myself all the time mid-silent-prayer – Am I praying to get closer to God? To transform myself to his will? Or am I trying to change God by my prayer, to my will? Oh – my prayer is an interesting internal dialogue lately… I really like to have control, but I have to pray: Father God, transform me, conform me to your will in Jesus name.
 
If we can turn to prayer in everything that we do, it will transform us. It will conform our heart to His. So, as St Paul says, we should pray without ceasing.
 
He also tells us that we should give thanks in all circumstances. It’s a little like when Jesus tells us to love our enemies. It is easy to love the people we love, but enemies – that’s tough. Here too, it is easy to be thankful when things are good, easy, satisfying, go according to our plans, and make us happy. But what about all the other times? The suffering that we face? Even the mundane everyday things? Be thankful? – that’s tough.
 
I don’t think that I have ever been thankful when doing attendance. Ever. I do it every weekday – most of the time (our admin-assistant-willing) five times a day. I haven’t been thankful for that, have you? But St. Paul says in all circumstances.
 
What did St. Paul know and live that convicted him of this so foolhardily?
 
He knew, that just like each one of us, that he was created on purpose, with purpose, in the image and likeness of a God who is love and wants to be in relationship with us so badly, that on the cross he suffered all of the sin and pain of the world for us to know Him. When we can know that, the way that St. Paul knew that, we should find ourselves in unceasing prayer. Being thankful all of the time. Bringing us closer to the joy of eternal life.
 
If I can remember what Christ suffered for my salvation, it perhaps helps me to face not only the mundane but the suffering in my life. In Colossians 1:24 Paul writes: “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.”
 
Paul’s persistent! He suffers and is rejoicing. In our suffering we come to know Christ’s suffering and can offer ours for the salvation of the body of Christ, just like Paul did. And if we can work to complete Christ’s work to bring salvation, then we have found reason to be thankful. St. Maximillian Kolbe said, “For Jesus Christ I am prepared to suffer still more.” I know that I need to pray more – to be transformed more – so that I can make a claim like that, in hopes that like him, I can one day be a saint.
 
So, I invite you to consider whatever your year has been, and what your hopes are for the summer. Consider what God’s good and perfect will is for you and rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks – “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

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Written by Natalie Sturch, teacher at St. Joseph's Collegiate, Brooks.