St. Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer is foundational to the Christian life. It is the channel through which we foster our relationship with Jesus Christ. In prayer, we praise God and ask Him for the things we need. Prayer also involves listening to God speak; it is reflecting on His Word. We ask, “What is God prompting me to do? How is He calling me to live my life?” As a priest, it is my duty to pray both liturgically and personally. As a fellow disciple though, I sometimes find prayer challenging, dry, and difficult to do. Based on my experience, here are 4 practical tips to help with prayer.
Tip 1: Ask The Holy Spirit
The first tip sounds simple, yet it is essential to prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance! If you are struggling with prayer, you know that it is difficult to focus, to keep still, to stop checking the phone or social media, and to stop your mind from having so many thoughts race by. Left to ourselves, these challenges to prayer are impossible to overcome. However, we know that nothing is impossible for God. Jesus said, “ask and you shall receive.” When praying, the first thing we can do is ask for the Spirit’s inspiration. At Confirmation, we received His gifts of wisdom, knowledge, piety, and understanding. Invoking the Holy Spirit will help us use those gifts to make sense of where God may be acting in our daily lives. St. Paul wrote it best, “the Spirit too, comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”
Tip 2: Make Time
Human beings are creatures of habit. For example, the more time you spend learning a language, the more familiar you will become with it. The more time you practice basketball, the better basketball player will you become; your fitness and feel for the sport will improve. The same principle is true with prayer; one must make the time to pray. If you are a morning person, then praying in the morning will be best; It works before you go to work or drop the kids at school. If you are a night owl, then pray at night while people are asleep. In the end, it is not so much the time of day, but the time that is spent on prayer that matters. If you are a very busy person, then schedule time for prayer down on your smart phone or calendar. After all, what appointment is more important than an encounter with Jesus?
I understand that not all of you are monks or nuns who have long periods in their day devoted for prayer. For families, life is way busier today than in the past. Therefore, make quality time for prayer. When encountering Christ in prayer, savor each moment. Do not rush. There is no need to spit out a thousand words. Recall that Jesus said, “in praying, do do not babble like pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” Quality over quantity.
Tip 3: Find Space
While writing my thesis, the library was the one place in which I could focus on reading and writing. If I stayed in my room, I found that I got lazy. If I went to the coffee shop, I got easily distracted. Finding the optimal space for study was crucial. The same is true with prayer. Find a location in which you can be silent, calm, and docile to the Holy Spirit. When praying, our minds can be filled with so many things like our to-do lists, personal errand, worries, and anxieties. Lessening your chances for outside distractions will only help your prayer. Find your space.
Tip 4: Intention
Mother Teresa remarked, “God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful.” I find this quote very grounding when it comes to prayer. God knows we have our limits; as human beings we are weak and we struggle. No one is perfect. This fact however, does not mean we simply give up and kick the bucket of prayer. Maybe we have skipped prayer, rushed prayer, or even spaced-out during prayer. Regardless of the past, God grants you this present moment. He is a merciful God who loves you more than you can ever imagine. Jesus knows the intentions, motives, and efforts of our hearts. Ask yourself, “Will I make the effort to pray today? Will I renew my commitment to know Jesus Christ in prayer? Will I make the intention to offer my thoughts, praises, joys, and sorrows to God in prayer?” He calls us to be faithful. Let us make this intention.
