Good question. What constitutes praying? Let me say that there are many ways to look at praying. I think there as many ways you can define it as the people who pray. But there is one thing for sure. We pray to God Almighty who is the Creator and above all things. I think that this is fundamental to the understanding of praying. To believe in praying, I have to submit and humble myself to one who is more powerful than I am. For us as Christians, we have learned a special way to pray. Jesus taught us that we can have a relationship with God who we can call our Father. Through Jesus, we are now able to have an intimate communication with God. I think that's what praying is all about - to communicate with God.
I like to share some of my favorite excerpts from our pastor's message about what praying is, which he gathered from different saints and theologians. My pastor is Fr. Roberto Corrall, O.P. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
Praying is...
...dialogue with God. (St. Augustine)
...to make a place for God to enter our lives (Fr. Okumura, OCD)
...friendly conversation with God (St. Teresa of Avila)
...remaining silent before God (Fr. Okumura)
...to seek God, to discover God in oneself (Fr. Okumura)
...the breathing of the soul (St. Augustine)
...the breathing of love (Fr. Okumura)
The last two descriptions bring me to running. Yes you can pray while running. You breathe as you run. You can breathe God's love as you run. Fill yourself with God as you run. Allow God to remain in you as you run. Every breathe, every step, God is with you.
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