@RileyG
Their secret is that they have been called by God to a life a prayer.
And when God calls us to an assignment or ministry, He equips us for it.
In the Bible, we are all commanded to pray. But some persons are additionally called by God to the ministry of intercession (prayer). And while we usually just think of nuns and monks when we think of intercessors, many intercessors are regular folks like you and I, who live out in the real world and have been called by God to minister in prayer for others.
Lived out in the world, the ministry of intercession is often a private one, not one that many others will see or even know about. The ones called to this kind of ministry won't be applauded or honored by the world, nor will they be seeking that kind of personal glory or recognition. Persons called to this ministry love God and the things that are important to Him, often the salvation of souls. They aren't seeking personal glory for themselves, but rather the glory of God.
Intercessors are often compassionate persons, able to empathize for others who are suffering, even persons they do not personally know. They will sometimes just sense 'a burden' to pray for someone, not always even knowing what is the need. That is because it is often God who will put the burden to pray on the heart of the intercessor.
In His Divine Providence, God arranges for the intercessor's 'station in life' to be one conducive to his spending time alone with God in prayer. The intercessor with find himself with the time and opportunity in his schedule to pray. And not all prayer is vocal. Sometimes an intercessor will just sense a desire to sit in silent prayer alone with God.
The ministry of intercession is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who will teach and guide and develop the intercessor into this ministry. All that is needed on the part of the intercessor is the willingness to say 'yes', and the obedience to pray as the Spirit of God leads.
Reading good books on prayer can be helpful. I could, but won't, recommend some since the ones I'm familiar with have been written by Protestants. But I would think that our brother fide might have some helpful insights to share on this subject from a more Catholic perspective. And JimR-OCDS, as a Secular Order Carmelite, may also have some insight to share when he returns to the forum at the close of Lent. Many called to the ministry of intercession join Third Orders or become oblates. It becomes their calling ...
St. Therese of Lisieux was not a very physically healthy young woman, but she never stopped praying. She prayed from her sickbed for others. Her life is a beautiful example of one called to the ministry of intercession.
God bless you, Riley.
Thank you, mourningdove, for using my name in your post, which alerted me to a member's important interest in prayer, Riley. So, Riley and anyone else interested in these thoughts, it is crucially important to pray and to pray well. Prayer, in the words (and
Catechetical Instruction) of St. John Vianney: "Prayer is nothing other than union with God." How important is it to pray
well, then? Well, anyone who sincerely desires eternity with God and the people of God, it seems, would want to know exactly how to enter "union with God" and how to seek and embrace the
Beatitude that that state of Being brings to a human person.
The book that this post links to (above) might well be the kind of reference that would be helpful to you. And's it's free! He is a holy man, and his wisdom is therefore precious. There are many, many books on prayer today that I sadly say are counterproductive for a person seeking spiritual advice concerning prayer or anything else. His
Instruction above is wider in scope than prayer alone (which in itself, is one brief chapter - Chapter 8), but it all looks very good and worthwhile.
In Chapter 8, St. John V. devotes a paragraph to the Our Father - which is the absolute best measure of any and all verbal prayers; every word of it demands in justice to its worth, a lifetime of humble obedience. The best
book on the
Our Father that I can recommend -
The Interior Liturgy of the Our Father - is best understood within a working knowledge/understanding of St. John of the Cross, the spiritual theology he worked with of stages or ages of the interior life, and the dark nights experienced necessarily along that pilgrimage of spiritual growth. Good introductions to that spiritual theology are not easy to find. The best
introduction that I know of, was written by the same author as
The Interior Liturgy... But this post is already over-complicated. If you can let me know what your aim is, or if you want any further advice, please let me know -- I can try to be more helpful in response.
May the Lord lead you, Riley! Maybe He is calling you to Himself.
