God’s love is always present in our lives, but we are constantly bombarded by distractions which draw us away from an awareness of God’s presence. A reflective prayer life can help focus on this intimacy of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and what God’s will might be. I personally seem to experience an intimacy in deep prayer, while in the quiet solitude of nature, during church services, reading scripture and most profoundly when I am helping someone in need. I have not been able to properly and adequately write about the later very much, but hope to some day.
While some might call this simply feeling alive, contemplation, ecstasy, mystical experience or being in the presence of God, I prefer the simple and less confusing notion of just being immersed in prayer. It seems to me that what we do with our lives because of these experiences when God’s presence is certain, is the true test of our faith. When we extend the moment into action we become immersed in the prayer far beyond the classic definition of prayer. Christian Mystics such as St. John of the Cross or St. Theresa of Avila who expressed God’s love in poetry and prose did not just write about it but also became living agents of Christ. Christ has said it far more succinctly than I ever could, we must love God and neighbor with our entire being. This means mind, body and soul need to be immersed as Jesus proclaimed in the Beatitudes. To use our God given gifts to express our gratefulness, brings the concept full circle.
