Prayerfulness / Act of Prayer
The final goal of prayer is not to be good at a particular act of prayer, but to lead a life which becomes a prayer. It is the way we live which reveals the quality of our prayer life. We pray to live better, to gain the strength to live according to the Gospel. Life itself is the greatest prayer. It is the great act of adoration and thanksgiving which we offer to God.
The individual acts of prayer simply contribute to this fullest and most perfect expression of human surrender to God. Given the priority of prayerfulness of life, the act of prayer comes to be seen as a means or tool in the service of this overall prayerfulness. This does not mean that individual acts of prayer are not important. The good workman looks after his tools, and the prayerful person is concerned to pray well in individual acts of prayer. However, this emphasis helps to avoid an attitude to prayer which feels that prayer is successful simply if it feels good or meets a certain set of standards accepted by the person.
Prayer as an individual act is essential for the transformation of life, but alone it cannot bring about this transformation. Accompanying it must be the effort to practice Christian virtue in one’s life. History shows that there have always been people who have put all their efforts into particular acts of prayer and achieving certain states in prayer. However, it also shows that these have not been the people whom the Christian community has accepted as its authentic teachers on the nature of Christian prayer.
by Bishop David Walker