The Beginning of Prayer

by Fred Vilbig


In the 1st letter of John, the Beloved Apostle tells us that anyone who does not love, does not know God, because “God is love.” 1 John 4:8. He doesn’t say that God loves us (which He certainly does), but rather that the very essence of God is love.

Whenever theologians and saints talk about the Trinity, they will say that the Word (Jesus) came from God the Father out of Love, and that the love between the Father and the Son is so powerful, that that love itself became a Divine Person, the Holy Spirit. The love that exists within the Holy Trinity is fundamental and profound. As St. John says, God is love.

God the Father sent His Son into the world because “God so loved the world.” John 3:16. So God not only loves within the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, but He also loves all of creation. Some of the Fathers of the Church and other saints have said that the only reason that anything in creation continues in its very existence is because God loved it into existence and continues at every moment to love it into existence, including us.


Since God is love, it seems appropriate that what God wants from us most is that we love Him and all of His creation which in some way is a reflection of Him. That is why when the Pharisee asked Jesus “which is the greatest commandment…”, Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind.” Matt. 22:37. And then Jesus volunteered that the second commandment was like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt. 22:39. God is all about love.

Love is a funny thing, though. You can’t really love what you don’t know. People might say, “I love everybody.” But that love would be very abstract, almost unreal. It seems to me that in order to really love someone, you have to know them. And if you really do love someone, you want to … you have a strong desire or even a need… to know them.

God calls us to love Him. In order to love God, I think that we need to know Him. And if we do love Him, we will want to know Him.

But the only way to get to know God is to spend time with Him. Spending time with him means getting away from the TV, the radio, the computer, and even your phone or other mobile device or devices now. The Psalmist says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. If we really want to love God, we need on a regular basis to set aside quiet time to get to know Him. It is just a necessity. And that is the beginning of prayer.