Day 331: The Foundations of Prayer

Once the promise begins to be fulfilled (Passover, the Exodus, the gift of the Law, and the ratification of the covenant), the prayer of Moses becomes the most striking example of intercessory prayer, which will be fulfilled in "the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." CCC 2574

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the foundations of prayer. In Moses, we see a man chosen by God, who was curious yet also frightened by the burning bush (Ex 3:1-22), and someone who spoke to Him in contemplative prayer, "face to face, like a man with his friend" (Ex 33:11). It is the intimacy of this which undoubtedly helped spark Moses' boldness to intercede strongly for his people on several occasions. All of this prefigures the intercession of the one true mediator, Jesus Christ. Moving too are the Psalms by David, prayers really, as they have been prayed within the Church, written in times of great distress for him. More on those another time. It is in the Temple that we see the relationship between king and prayer, as summarized by the Catechism Compendium:

The prayer of the People of God developed in the shadow of the dwelling place of God – the Ark of the Covenant, then the Temple – under the guidance of their shepherds. Among them there was David, the King “after God’s own heart,” the shepherd who prayed for his people. His prayer was a model for the prayer of the people because it involved clinging to the divine promise and a trust filled with love for the One who is the only King and Lord. (#538)

All of this builds a foundation for prayer, one coming from the deepest part of Moses & David, and from us.

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

Our prayer should always be honest. Contemplative prayer is where we just reflect on and contemplate the goodness of God, his being and his presence. If we want to learn about God, we have to talk to God. We have to pray. Reading Scripture and learning Church teaching are important and good, but they cannot take the place of prayer. We are each made in God's image, so we are good, but we are also broken. We come to God as we are, in humility and honesty. We do not always want what God wants, but also we realize that God's will is better for us than our own will is. (p. 178)