St. Paul says we are supposed to pray always (Always?? Really?). However, most of us struggle to keep our prayer life consistent. We go through periods of intense prayer (and let’s face it, that’s usually when we need God to “do something” for us) and times when we drift away from prayer. How can we keep our prayer lives running smoothly, in order to stay in relationship with God?
The chart below is a great one to print and tape to your bathroom mirror, your fridge, or near your computer. It “breaks down” your day of prayer into manageable pieces.
First, the morning offering. This is a traditional Catholic prayer that dedicates one’s day to God. It’s a reminder to ourselves that we want to serve God all day, in everything we do.
Next, 15 minutes (that’s it??) of spiritual reading. Of course, the Bible is terrific, but consider a book on a saint’s life, a book explaining some part of Catholic doctrine (such as a book on the Mass) or even a book you can read with your child.
The next one is probably that which we find most difficult: time spent in “mental prayer.” Part of developing a mature faith life means you spend time talking to God. You’d never consider creating a friendship with someone if you could never talk to them – we must do the same with God. Of course, it’s perfectly fine to use memorized prayers, but in order to form a healthy, rich relationship with Almighty God, we have to talk to Him. That means coming before Him with our sufferings, our joys, our praise, our gratitude. If this seems rather daunting, perhaps you can back up a step, and begin by reading a book on how and why we pray.
Finally, there is the nightly examination of conscience. Most of us know that we do an examination of conscience prior to going to Confession, but doing one every evening will truly help us become aware of our daily sins – even those small ones that we might otherwise shrug off. Now, this type of exercise is not meant to become a way to beat yourself up, but rather a way to recognize where you can daily improve your relationships with God and with other people.
With these four fairly simple steps, you can start making the ideal of “pray always” a reality.
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