Prayer to, with and for

The Roman Catholic lectionary today takes us through some texts with prayer as the topic. Fr Larry Gillick SJ at the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality discusses the forms of prayer and the example of Abraham as the first advocate for humanity. The great tradition in the Hebrew Scripture of negotiating with God seems to be lost in modern spiritual dialogue. The voive in which God speaks to us is our voice. Perhaps we do not accept “talking to ourselves” as prayer, yet it can be enlightening as the discussion engages the indwelling Spirit in relationship with the Divine. Paul reminds the Colossians of the great act of forgiveness and breaking of the barriers between the Divine and humanity in Jesus sacrifice. Our nature is to seek the ‘cost” of desires. What do we need to do to gain our spiritual goals? Perhaps, too often we are in pursuit of our spiritual goals. What would be the consequence of trusting the Father that the Plan for us is our eternal goal?