Short Reflection on Prayer

I have written elsewhere on the topic, infact the gift, of prayer, yet not enough could ever be told of it. Without such intimate communion with the living and true God, no man is able to be saved. The life we have been given in this exile is that of relentless perseverence through the grace of God so that we may be made holy as the Father is holy. One is unable to regain the divine likeness if the very archtype is unknown to us, or is not sought after.
Saint Augustine writes 'There is brought about in prayer a turning of the heart to Him, Who is ever ready to give, if we will but take what He has given.'. Yet one cannot turn to God, unless He excites our minds and brings about in us a delight. Man seeks after what is pleasing to him, what will afford him benefit if he persues it. God, in His wisdom, orders and directs our wills to Himself, to the Supreme Good, in Whom there is no shadow of change or decay. He frees our captive wills and effects the change necessary so that we can cling to Him. With great reason we say at the foot of the Altar of God, 'Thou shall turn and give us life, and Thy people shall rejoice in Thee'.
Prayer is itself a gift, where man is invited to share closely with His Creator, Sustainer and Liberator. In prayer, man encounters He Who is His origin and end, in fact it is the Origin that seeks him. The Good Lord brings about delight in the creature's soul of the privilege and heights of prayer, that man can only foolishly decline. Through responding to the divine call, man is purged of evil inclinations and learns to acknowledge the truth of his nature; that it finds its fulfilment in the blessed and undivided Trinity.
In all things we must imitate the example of our Divine Redeemer. Follow His prayer, His intimate communion with the Father, His complete subjugation to His Father's will, even to the point of death. In prayer, we must not attempt to coerce God, to persuade Him of our merits or plans. We are not His equals. Our Lord Christ did not count equality with God to be grasped, but He emptied Himself and assumed the condition of a slave. Let us put aside our assumptions, our ambitions and submit to the Father humbly in prayer, beseeching that His will be done in us, however uncomfortable it may appear. Be molded by His mercy, as we are only the clay in His hands, and He will graciously bring you to glory.