The Transforming Power of Prayer [Part 1]

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The Transforming Power of Prayer

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September 17, 2007

When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:30)

What's so frightening about a radiant face? Nothing, unless you understood why Moses' face was glowing. He had been in the presence of God. He had seen the glory of God, something so awesome that no human being could behold it and survive (Exodus 33:20; Isaiah 6:5). The Israelites were afraid that looking at Moses' radiance would have the same effect as looking at God himself. The mere thought was inconceivable!

How blessed we are! In Jesus, God has become both visible and approachable. Because Jesus has taken on human flesh, we can now look upon God and live. Not only can we see the face of God as we "gaze" at Jesus in our prayer and worship, but they have the power to transform us.

We know that Jesus is the Son of God. We know that he loves us and died for our sins, and has risen from the dead. We know that he desires to personally reveal his great love to us. We believe it; we profess it every week at Mass. And yet how often do we take these truths of our faith so lightly? Do we come to prayer each morning expecting to be lifted up to heaven and touch the very heart and mind of God? Do we come expecting his glory to be revealed in us in some way?

The hard truth is that too often we trust our own abilities to bring about the kind of faith that transforms our lives. We simply must rely on God to give us divine revelation by his Holy Spirit. This is what prayer is all about — coming face-to-face with Jesus. It is about coming to know God intimately by spending time with him in praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and quiet listening. It's about meeting the one who is our creator, redeemer, counselor, and friend.

The good news is that when we gaze at Jesus in prayer and look to the Holy Spirit, Jesus really does reveal himself to us. He really does want to change our heart, piercing it with his love in a way that transforms us into his image. As we gaze on Jesus, like Peter we will proclaim: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Like Thomas, we will bow before him and cry out: "My Lord and my God." And like John we will come face-to-face with the life-changing reality that God is love. The more Jesus reveals himself to us, the more we can begin to grasp "what is the breadth and length and height and depth" of the Lord we follow (Ephesians 3:18). Nothing compares to knowing Jesus. The revelation of his love and power is worth striving for in prayer!

Do you want to know another fruit of gazing on the face of Jesus? What happened to Moses can also happen to us: We will begin to radiate his goodness to those around us. Prayer really can transform our lives. It can turn us into loving apostles. It can make us holy! As Paul wrote: "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Can any promise be more inspiring than that?

"Lord, I want to know you. More than anything else, I ask you to reveal yourself to me more deeply than ever before as I come into your presence in prayer. Thank you, Jesus, for making it possible for me to look on the face of God and live! Holy Spirit, draw me into a closer relationship with God and transform me as I gaze on his holiness."

Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to adapt material from daily meditations in their monthly devotional magazine. Used with permission.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1. What is your reaction to the article's description of what should happen when we pray?

2. Do you believe that Jesus is approachable when you come to him in prayer? Do you believe that he can speak to you deep within your spirit, not necessarily in an audible voice, when you pray? What is your own personal experience of this?

3. What role has prayer played in deepening your faith and your relationship with Jesus Christ?

4. How important is a time of daily prayer in transforming you into the image and likeness of God — into being a man of God?

5. What steps can you take to improve your prayer life?

6. If you are in a men's group, end your meeting by praying to the Lord for one another that each of you would come into the presence of Christ in prayer with expectant faith that he will transform you into his image and likeness. Use the prayer at the end of the article as the starting point.

Are they praying or are they just talking?

Well, here's how I approach this:

I can do nothing, not even form a decent intention, w/o the grace of God. Responding to that grace, I start my prayer by invoking the Most Holy Trinity. This is not a formality! It's both a dedication of the coming time to God and an imploring His help.

But having done so, I put my hope in His help. So I know my mind will wander and my intention waver. But when I notice this, I kind of wince and bring my attention back to my prayer.

The words are the words of Scripture, for the most part, especially the Psalms. Other words are proposed to me by my betters, by good and holy men and women, people inspired by God. (Or by angels. And can we think that angels speak anything other than what God gives them to speak?) So I am speaking God's word to God.

And in a way it is also God who speaks, not me. I do not know how to pray as I ought, but God's Spirit has dragged me over to my "corner" where my breviary and Bible are, and encourages me and urges me. And, as I said, it was in the Spirit which the words I read were written. And it is ever clearer to me that when I am momentarily able to pay attention that is a gift and a work of the Spirit.

So, I say, it is God speaking God's word, and I am just a witness, or a leaf or twig caught up in the current, or even one of those water bugs that skips on the surface of the water, not even getting as wet as I should, barely touching or touched by the life-giving stream, but still carried along.

For MY part, I am "just talking". But as I babble distractedly, God is doing, well, that thing He does.

And for which I give him hearty and humble thanks.

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