Elket Rodríguez
CBF Field Personnel at the United States-Mexico Border
My prayer life has evolved to incorporate different styles of prayer as I mature in my relationship with God and as I adapt to the different seasons of my life. During my youth years, I spent many hours praying alone by myself in a room, following Jesus’ recommendation in Matthew 6:6. But then I married, had children and began working. I then adapted my prayer time to that reality. Early morning prayer and meditation are the norm, following Matthew 6:33. I still spend hours alone in prayer to God, trying to replicate the practice of the Sabbath to rest in God—but mostly on the weekends.
My prayers have also changed with time. I pray more for others, practice contemplative silence (wordless prayer) to listen to God’s voice and pray the psalms out loud to nurture and liberate my soul (Lectio Divina). Psalms 62 and 139 are among my favorites to pray because they open my heart to God in worship.
Nowadays, I spend much of my prayer asking God to open the eyes of this world to God’s justice, mercy and love. Even though, my prayer is very focused on God and God’s majesty, I often request God to help us Christians understand how we can make God’s presence feel more real to our neighbors in practical and tangible ways through our actions. I would love to see a church that incarnates the new humanity in Christ that serves the “least of these,” including but not limited to immigrants and refugees who are among the most prone to suffer from exploitation.
Given the increase of evil, injustice and indifference I am often relying on breath prayers crying out “Hosanna!” and “Maranatha!” to God. On a given day, I would use different approaches to prayer depending on where I think the Holy Spirit is leading me.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.