While there are three main types or categories of prayer – vocal, meditative, and contemplative – there is a single battle for prayer. In every age, it’s a challenging task for fallen humanity to humble itself, lift its head, and seek divine wisdom and assistance.

In short, prayer is not easy.

After describing the different types of prayer, the third chapter of part four of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, moves to article two and begins to explain the battle of prayer.

The use of the term “battle” might surprise some people. It can sound like an exaggeration, but it certainly is not. The task of dying to ourselves, surrendering to God, and seeking to truly pray to him is an intense and constant battle. It is a profound – and sometimes anguishing – act of humility. And so, the “battle” language is as severe and uncomfortable as it is real and honest.

Prayer is not always a walk in the park. It oftentimes takes us to the mat of a spiritual wrestling match between ourselves and God. At times, we don’t want to wrestle. We just want to do whatever we prefer. Overcoming this impulse take great effort. The Catechism explains: “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort.”

A help and motivation for prayer is the realization that it is ultimately a response to God ‘s love for us. Our response, therefore, must also be one of love, which involves the will. There are times when we will not want to pray. There are moments when we just want to figure things out on our own. There are situations in which we want to walk our own path.

As surprising as it can be, there are times and scenarios in which we would rather talk to ourselves than to God. We favor a self-monologue over a dialogue with God.

These inclinations show us our fallenness and the rough part of our nature that wants to reject divine assistance and do things our way. In our fallenness, however, we are called to dig deep, love selflessly, and turn to God in spite of ourselves.

In our efforts to pray, we are not alone. There are many who have gone before us in faith who stand as models and exemplars of prayer. We see we can be inspired by them. We can also turn to them and ask their intercession. We can learn from their holy example.

As we look to these masters of the spiritual life, their holy lives emphasize the raw truth: Prayer is a struggle.

The Catechism teaches: “The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle.”

As we recognize the struggle of prayer, we can echo the question of the Catechism: Against whom are we battling? Yes, our fallen nature. But who else is involved? The Catechism explains: “Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God.”

The Evil One is involved in our battle to pray. He is the master of pride and wants to nurture a similar spirit in each of us. It is pride to think that we do not need to pray. It is arrogance to presume that we can figure out the things of life without divine grace and wisdom. And yet, such a wayward spirit can become very popular in contemporary Western culture.

We have to kick out the bad spirits, humble our sinful pride, and seek to pray.

Divine wisdom tells us, “We pray as we live, because we live as we pray.”

We do not live in one world and pray in another. The physical and spiritual dimensions of ourselves are always interacting, intersecting, and influencing each other.

Our call as believers compels us to follow his way of love and his way of prayer.

The Catechism teaches: “If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The ‘spiritual battle’ of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer.”

The Christian way of life is not easy, but it’s worth it since it culminates in a union with God, joy in our hearts, and peace with those around us.

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