Meditation or “mental prayer” facilitates an intimate and personal dialogue with God. Like Jesus, we need to pray, speaking freely and listening to our Father. We do so as sons and daughters in the Son, with the Holy Spirit who comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought (cf. Rom 8:26).
The Word of God must be present in our prayer, either as subject matter for meditation or as part of our conversations with the Lord. Let us recall how the disciples of Emmaus prayed and how their hearts burned within as they listened to the Lord: for Jesus led them to ponder their troubles and discover in the Scriptures the interpretive key for their life (Lk 24:13-35).
It is not enough to reflect and contemplate. Meditation is an attentive and loving dialogue with God. In order to share this intimacy, we must learn to listen to God in the silence of our soul, and to confide in him in colloquies and conversation full of faith and love. It is during these intimate conversations when, under the light and power of the Holy Spirit, our will conforms to the will of God and the decisions that guide our life emerge.
This prayer begins with the sign of the cross and an invocation to the Holy Spirit; it continues with preparatory acts to help us enter into communion with God, to share the same feelings as Jesus when he prayed. At the end of the prayer, we thank the Lord for having spent this time with him and for the fruits we have received, which are always greater than what we perceive. Finally, we ask for his grace to bring to others what he has given us."Lord, Teach Us to Pray"