Today marks the beginning of Caritas Internationalis’ “One Human Family, Food for All” campaign, and the UN’s National Human Rights Day. To mark this day, they – and Pope Francis – have asked the world to launch a “wave of prayer”, with people around the world praying for an end to hunger at noon local time.
This is important, not only because we should be focused on the scandal of hunger world wide, not only because it is an offense that we live so ignorantly in our worlds of plenty while so many go without, but because it sends a clear message: prayer matters.
I have spent the last three years mulling over the meaning of prayer, mostly the meaning of my own, selfish prayers. I have fallen deeper into mystery, understanding much less than I ever thought I did before. But I do know this: prayer matters.
And of course, the organizers of this wave of prayer are also calling on us to work, to do our part to end hunger. Pray as if everything depends on God, work as if everything depends on you. – St Augustine
I hope you’ll join in praying at noon today, and tell me, why do you think prayer matters?
Photo © 2007 David Monniaux (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr], via Wikimedia Commons
I think prayer matters because God said it did. Not only do I think it pulls us to the God of the universe and promotes relationship it changes us as we pray. In our prayers we learn as we acknowledge our weaknesses and inability to control things. God takes those cares we throw at his feet and does not ignore. Sometimes we heal by just pulling our aches and pains and put them into words and express them to God.
Excellent points all! And your first sentence is right on the money.