The Weapon of Prayer
Marcel Dion
November 17, 2024
Prayer is glorious mystery. Unfortunately, because of our fallen condition we're not born with an innate aptitude to pray well or profoundly. Simply put, we have to learn to pray. But thanks to the baptismal grace of our becoming a "new creation in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 5:17), prayer can be for us an exciting adventure! That being said, given the vast scope of this mystical reality Christian prayer and the fact that we have a formidable enemy intent on keeping us from union with God, prayer will also necessarily be for us all a lifelong challenge. In this post we'd like to highlight one occasion of prayer that is a weapon for the Kingdom of God and against the enemy; praying with others!
Fr Bob Bedard, the founder of the Companions of the Cross, impacted the lives of thousands of believers, Linda and I included. He became a priest with a very deep life of prayer. However that was not always the case. By his own admission, he had already been a priest for over two decades before he became a "man of prayer". The accompanying video recounts one of the most important lessons the Lord ever taught Fr. Bob, a moment of conversion that helped him grow into the priest he then became. He recounted this experience to me personally shortly after these life-changing events occurred.
Linda and I have been friends with Chris Keyes since the late 80's. Chris learned this lesson about praying with others during his career in IT. He recounts this experience in a very humorous manner, but the message is not lost. This lesson began to shape Chris' life and ministry over 30 years ago, and continues to do so to this day.
Our third testimony is given to us by Chris Zettel. He recounts his experience of praying with a priest for the very first time, and the healing that resulted from stepping out in faith. At the time I interviewed him Chris was discerning a possible call to the priesthood. Several years in formation gave him clarity about his actual vocation to marriage. He and his lovely wife Sierra are now generously serving the Lord through their vocation and gifts. Chris also plays keyboards and sings on our ministry worship team.
