'Til You Stop Breathing
Adopt the principles of persistence, counter-punching, popping-in, and speed in your intercessory prayers for others and your life and the lives of people you know will change forever. I'm no expert, but here are four principles which have helped my family over the years. All four were taught to me by my parents, who have lived these principles all their lives. Their example is the wisdom I offer you.
FIRE AT WILL
When someone asks for your prayers, pray for them immediately rather than promising to pray for them later on. Go directly into a Hail Mary. Don't wait. Waiting is not praying. Praying is praying. I often turn to Saint Anthony in my mind and entrust the person's intention to him, because he is such a reliable friend in heaven--and I figure he's much better at this than I am. "Saint Anthony," I pray, "please help my friend find a good job fast." Don't hesitate to go to Jesus. "Jesus, help my friend find a job!" Go to both. Nothing can stop you from firing at will. Intercessory prayer is not a "nice" thing to do. It's joining a serious fight. It's a battle. It's the war for souls. That's why we on earth have been given the title The Church Militant. Soldiers fight. You are a Christian soldier. Good soldiers take aim and fire when the target comes into view. Don't let the target escape. Make this a principle of your prayers for others. Fire away. Saint Pio called each Rosary bead a Hail Mary "bullet" which he used to "fire into the heart of satan." The Marine Corps classic manual on leadership, Warfighting, notes that "speed" itself is a tactical weapon that can be used to vanquish a more powerful enemy. So strike quickly and strike often, my fellow prayer warriors. Praying immediately is one of the best prayer habits you will ever develop.
COUNTER-PUNCH
Because of the effects of Original Sin, temptation is part of our lives as Christians. Jesus was tempted by the devil in the Gospel. We are tempted so often that Holy Scripture says that even the just man falls seven times a day. Here is as subtle truth about temptation that we often miss: God allows it. Because God is all good, He allows temptation for our greater good, even if satan, the flesh, or the world is the source of the temptation. Temptation is part of life. We must deal with it because it will be with us until the day we die. Sounds depressing, right. Not really. But how to deal with it? Learn to counter-punch with prayer. As my dad taught me, if the devil is going to tempt you, make him pay, and make him pay dearly. When temptation strikes, strike back immediately with a quick prayer. Have your intentions ready--it's like having your weapon loaded and the safety off. War is not safe. One of my favorite counter-punch prayers is to pray for the priest, wherever he is, who needs it the most. This simply has to cause great pain to whatever evil source is tempting you. "You want to mess with me? Okay. I have no control over that. But I'm going to pray for a priest right now. Take that!" I've noticed a pattern, too, when you counter-punch. You get punched back. The temptation often returns quickly, with more strength. This is good news. Counter-punch with another Hail Mary. Counter-punch again. You are helping a priest somewhere. You are helping your wife, if she is your "ready to go" intention. The temptation will cease. Remember, it's war. For Christians, war is not hell. War is heaven--heaven on earth. Fight.
My wife has a saying, "Whatever doesn't break you makes you stronger." I sometimes think that God's main reason for allowing temptation is to train us for battle with battle. It's training under "live fire," and it's the best training there is. Every counter-punch prayer is training. Every victory makes you a better soldier--and God can now use you for greater battles. Become a veteran. Punch back. Grow strong. Fight. Unlike human warfare, because God is all-powerful, He always wins. When we fight, He wins.
POPPING-IN
This is so simple. Whenever you are near a Catholic Church, or drive by a Catholic Church--check in with Jesus, the King of Kings. He doesn't need a lot of words. He needs your attention. Returning to the warfare analogy, every soldier must be ready to take orders. Pull in to the lot of the church if you don't have one minute, tell Jesus you love Him, then go on your way. If you have more than a minute, but less than five, jump out of your car, pop in and walk quickly to the Tabernacle, fall to your knees, and pray this prayer: "I love you, Jesus." Then, listen in silence for a minute or two, then pop out. Your soul is much like an answering machine. Jesus can leave messages that you may not "hear," but you will be getting your marching orders nonetheless. You will rarely actually hear the most important things Jesus has to say to you. But you will receive what you need, grace itself. There is a reason why He is so silent in the Eucharist. Silence is His way. Silence is golden. The tabernacle is an infinite storehouse of spiritual gold. One of Our Lady's titles is House of Gold, because she was a human tabernacle who carried Jesus in her womb. Visit the House of Gold often. There's one in just about ever town and neighborhood. Pop-in. Download your messages. Pop-out.
Another favorite prayer I have before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is, "Dear Jesus, I have nothing to say." After all, what can we really say to Our Lord, other than we love Him and will do whatever He wants? He doesn't need our words. He needs our wills. Pop-in.
TIL YOU STOP BREATHING
My family prays the Rosary every night. With four sons under the age of eleven, it's not always our most peaceful prayer time, but I often think this is our most effective kind of prayer in two ways. First, it is indeed every night. It shall remain every night until the last Macfarlane breathes his or her last breath on this planet, which, if things go according to God's plan, means until Jesus returns. Macfarlanes will be praying for their friends, their family, their country, their Church, and for miracles every single day until the end of time. Insert your name and your family's name into that last sentence. This is persistence. Let's face it: few of us are going to go down in Church History as the greatest contemplative mystics. Not that we shouldn't aim for peaceful, mystical union with God in prayer, but until we get there, what do we have to offer? Our widow's mite of persistence. Our willingness to just keep banging away, content in our role as foot soldiers in the battle for souls. The legendary General Patton observed that the most important thing a good soldier can do to keep himself and his brother soldiers alive and therefore win battles is to keep moving, and keep moving forward. Praying every day, every night, and all the time during the day with quick little conversations with Our Lord and Our Lady is moving forward. Praying today is moving. Praying "tomorrow" is moving forward. Pray today. Pray tomorrow. Pray every tomorrow. The distractions of praying as a family with little children squirming and fiddling--at home or at Mass--are similar to the distractions that occur on a battlefield. Battlefields are messy. Battlefields are noisy. Battlefields, however, are where the fighting happens. Peaceful interludes sometimes "break out" during the most ferocious battles, so take them when they come. Fine. Do you want to be like Jesus? Do you want to be like Mary? Do you want to form their heal to crush the head of satan? Then fight, and fight every single day until the day you stop breathing.
There is no better feeling in the world than the joy you experience when an intention you and your family have prayed for several months or several years is answered. My sons have prayed for one young lady they never met personally, the daughter of a friend of mine, every night for over six years. This means my oldest son started praying for her when he was five. The actual difficulty she had experienced had long since been vanquished. A couple of weeks ago, my sons had a chance to meet this beautiful woman for the first time. It was a sweet reunion. Another time, my wife and I prayed for a friend of ours to find a husband for over a decade. We were delighted beyond words the day she was wed. This is the sublime reward for persistence in prayer: the joy of victory. People who don't understand God often scoff at the old Christian saying that "all prayers are answered." If you adopt the principle of prayer without ceasing, unto death, you will know for certain that this is more than just a saying. This is the truth. God never abandons His people. When we pray for years on end, we imitate His persistence.
In summary: Pray. Fight. Win.