How To Pray
The Church calls prayer a battle - and for good reason.. We might not understand prayer or how to pray. We can become distracted. Sometimes, we’re just plain lazy. The good news is prayer is very simple and always worth the effort.
In order to make prayer a life–giving part of your day, you should consider each of the following elements. Click on each element to learn more about it.
Time
We’re called to pray without ceasing. We can do this by offering our very lives as a prayer. Still, it’s important to find a regular time to pray. Find a time in your day in which you are alert and won’t be too distracted. If you don’t feel like you have time, remember, you need to make time to make any relationship work.
Place
Pick somewhere that you can visit every day. Your bed, lying down, falling asleep at night probably isn’t a good place. During the commercials of your favorite TV show might be a little distracting. This isn’t to say you can’t pray during those times, but consider making a prayer corner with some images or Scripture to meditate on. It’s a great way to focus your prayer.
Posture
Prayer isn’t just a mental thing. When we pray, we use our minds, our hearts and our bodies; we are human, after all, a union of body and soul. Try incorporating your body into prayer. Kneel, sit, stand, lie down. Hold your hands open in front of you or fold them. Close your eyes, make the sign of the cross. These are all great ways to incorporate your body as well as your mind and heart into prayer.
Habit
We eat dinner every night. Go to school every morning. There are certain things in our lives that we just take for granted. Make daily prayer (even if for only a few minutes) a habit of your life; the same time and place every day. When two old friends see each other after a long time, they are always catching up. However, friends who see each other every day continue to develop deeper and deeper friendships. Don’t get stuck always “catching up” with Christ. Communicate with him every day through prayer.
Now that you have a pretty good idea of how to get yourself ready to pray, how exactly how do you pray? Well, there’s no better way to learn than by doing. To go through a simple yet effective way to pray, click here.
An Effective Way To Pray
Here’s an example of a simple, four-minute prayer that you can use every day. It’s based on the acronym P.R.A.Y., which stands for
It’s a great way to get into the habit of prayer.
Begin with the Sign of the Cross
Praise
Spend one minute just praising and thanking God for who He is and the wonderful things He has done for you. Think about how God has blessed you, loved you, and answered your prayers.
Repent
Spend one minute recalling the ways you have let God down by your sins. Think of the ways you have strayed from the path in your walk with Christ. Ask for forgiveness and realize that Christ forgives you. If a serious sin comes to mind, resolve to go to Confession.
Ask
Spend one minute asking God for the things you and those around you need. It doesn’t matter if what you’re asking for is large or small – just trust that God will hear and respond to your prayer.
Yield
Spend one minute quieting your mind, listening to God and yielding to His will. What is God saying to you?
Close your prayer with the Sign of the Cross.
There you go. It’s that simple. Isn’t it great to take some time and build your relationship with God?