The Bible recalls so many times that the Lord chose his people and accompanied them during the walk in the desert, throughout life. In essence, He was close to them, having chosen them and having promised to lead them to a land of joy, of happiness; He walked with this people and forged a covenant with them.

 

Moreover, just as God did with his people, He has done and does with each one of us. It is a loving grace, that the Lord walks with us, on the path of life. 

 

We must remember this reality in daily prayer, not with abstract but specific recollection. We are Christians because He has chosen us and the choice is his. It’s not ours. It is by grace, it is a gift. 

 

Therefore, remembering one’s own life is giving glory to God. And this is what Jesus himself asks us to remember.

 

It is enough to consider what the Lord says to Martha: “You are anxious and troubled about many things” but only “one thing is needful”, while “Mary has chosen the good portion”. Which? Hearing the Lord and remembering. 

This is because one cannot pray every day as if we had no history. Each of us has his or her own. And with this history at heart we pray. In this case our model is Mary; yet we are more similar to Martha, because like her many times we are distracted by work, by the day, by doing those things we have to do, and we wind up forgetting our history, the history of our relationship with God.