The power to pray for others

The head of the medical team who attended to Pope Francis during his admission to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Sergio Alfieri, said that the prayers raised by the faithful worldwide contributed to their recovery.

“There is a scientific publication according to which the prayers give strength to the sick. In this case, everyone began to pray. I can say that twice the situation was lost and then it happened as a miracle,” affirmed The doctor.

The impact of health prayer

In a text of the European Institute for Health and Social Welfarethe doctor how praise Manuel de la Peña, Director of the heart and longevity chair, is based on different studies to expose the “powerful influence” of prayer in patients and how this personal dialogue with God creates the circumstances that “feel the appropriate basis for healing.” In addition to personal prayer, intercession prayer for patients also charges invaluable value.

Is intercession prayer really necessary? Do you have a real impact on those who receive those prayers? Is there a correct way to pray? How are the fruits of prayer perceived?

Fr. Vicente Bosch, professor of spiritual theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cruz in Rome, reflects on these issues in dialogue with ACI Press. His field of study is spiritual life, understood as the process of meeting and communication between the human and God, which begins with baptism.

Prayer, soul breathing

Fr. Bosch cites Benedict XVI, who claimed that “when people lose faith, it is because they have stopped praying before.” For the priest, “prayer is the breathing of the soul”, a “window open to heaven that airs the spirit.”

He also points out that “the relationship of man with God is a dialogue” and that the Christian who seeks holiness “needs to communicate with God.”

“Praying is to talk with the Lord. And when he talks with him, not only is it requested, it is also appreciated, starting with what has been received without having requested it: life, faith, talents and skills. When one understands that everything is a gift, prayer becomes thanks and leads to worship, which is to recognize the greatness of God and our smallness.”

“Nothing falls into broken bag”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates Three expressions or degrees of prayer: the member, “which is an external expression of an inner prayer, so that it is not simple words of words”; Meditation, “in which thought, imagination” comes into action, and contemplative prayer, “which is communion of love with God.”

Regarding the prayer of intercession, that “that every Christian can do his common priesthood,” the priest of Opus Dei states that, “when he does not ask for himself, but for others, he pleases the Lord.”

“Everything that is done with supernatural sense has some fruit; nothing falls in a broken bag. Anyway, it should be remembered that, when we ask, we must add: ‘If you think it’s fine’, ‘If it is for your glory’. It is not about convincing the Lord so that things are as desire, but how he wants. In prayer we will identify our will with the divine will,” he adds.

In this context, he points out that “community prayer states more clearly that the Church is the communion of brothers, which pray for the same intentions.” However, he clarifies that “the prayer of a single Christian is not individual, but is” always prayer of the Church. “

“A Christian is never a loose verse, but is part of a divine poem. The Christian prayer, both community and personal, is a prayer that Christ does his own, on condition that he expresses some of the requests of the Our Father. Then it is Christ that prays to the Father in us. It is, effectively, something very strong and of what we are not always aware,” he emphasizes.

How to pray correctly

To the question of whether there is a formula to pray well and how to distinguish between an authentic prayer and a mere repetition of words, Fr. Bosch answers:

“The sincere desire to be like Jesus, accompanied by a coherent life, is awarded by God with the ‘transformative union’, which is contemplation. The true prayer is that accompanied by rejection of sin.”

Therefore, he affirms that prayer bear fruit “when he lives according to the Gospel and the works reflect the faith that is professed. Then the person experiences peace and inner serenity, the result of knowing that he is fulfilling the will of God.”

For those who feel that God does not respond to their prayers, the priest encourages them to persevere, not to be discouraged, to examine whether there is a real rejection of sin and “sharpen the ear with mortification.”

The importance of silence

It also highlights the essential role of silence in prayer. “Not only outside silence, but, above all, the interior. It is a condition sine qua non To pray, but today’s society does not favor it, ”he warns.

“We have difficulty silencing the memory that reminds you in the last episode of the fashion series; imagination leads us to unreal worlds where we succeed; curiosity makes us open the last WhatsApp received; we live in a continuous aggression to the senses and overturned to the exterior (images, sounds, sensations), etc. All this is screaming that stifles silence and internalization, seriously hindering the life of prayer.”

Finally, the priest addresses the spiritual crisis: “Everything in this world has a beginning and an end, also crises. Hope leads us to believe in a happy outcome, despite the evidence of the present.”

“You have to ask for strength to move forward with perseverance. The conditions of any prayer already pointed out by Jesus: it must be humble, confident and persevering,” he concludes.