David Torkington on Learning How to Pray

"Although we do not like to admit it, even to ourselves, we still believe that prayer happens suddenly, or never happens at all. We kid ourselves that saints are born, or created by an arbitrary decision of God who every now and then suddenly decides to top up humanity's quota. This is a comforting idea that we harbour at the back of our minds because it absolves us from any serious effort to live in union with God.

"The predicament of the alcoholic is but a dramatic 'blown-up' picture of all of us. The fact that our perilous plight is not so obviously dramatic is a mixed blessing. If it were, it would at least force us without undue delay to see ourselves stripped naked of all falsity and pretension to face stark reality. Then we would come to a moment of decision that we might otherwise cowardly evade, drifting into a life of superficiality, merely existing on the surface of human experience. Often when an alcoholic hits 'rock bottom', they become serious about changing their lives by surrendering and dedicating their lives to God through hard work, by practising new habits. . . .

"There can be no fresh start, no renewal in the life of any individual, group or community unless we are able to see and admit our own inadequacy and past failures. Once we begin to see, to experience and to admit our weakness, then we can begin to appreciate the fundamental principle of the spiritual life, namely that we cannot go a single step forward without God, not a single step. The Gospel does not say, 'Without me, you will not be able to get very far.' It says, 'Without me, you can do nothing.' Without me - nothing! . . .

"Learning to pray, learning to open ourselves to God, is like anything else: it needs practice and it takes time. There is no accomplishment of any worth that I know of that you can attain merely by desiring to have it. We think nothing of spending hours a day and working for years to get a degree, pass an examination, or attain certain qualifications, and we quite rightly accept as a matter of course that the time we give and the energy we expend is necessary. Somehow we seem to think that prayer is an exception, but believe me, it is not. Those who wish to succeed in a particular accomplishment have to give hours of time, even if they have flair or genius."

In a recent commentary, theologian and writer David Torkington reflected on the process of learning to pray.

To access Mr. Torkington's complete post, please visit:

Catholic Stand: Learning How to Pray Takes Time and Practice (19 JUN 19)