How to Pray
I know this may sound a little weird, I mean who doesn't know how to pray? There is not a right or a wrong way, but knowing the most righteous and effective prayer is always good information to have in mind.
1. Be Yourself!
-You don't need to look like a statue of St. Francis when you pray. In fact, you don't have to look like anything except for you when you pray. We are created to be in communion with God and for him to have a relationship with us. He doesn't want a copied version of a previous saint! He created you with your own unique traits and passions and wants you to flaunt them and let them shine! Come to him as you are.
2. "Teach us to pray" - Luke11:1
-Jesus' apostles asked Him these words, and that conversation resulted in what we call the 'Our Father' prayer. If his own apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, how much more should we ask him to teach us to pray! Ask God to help you and know that He listens. 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you'
3. Hit the brakes!
-The world we live in today is surrounded by media and disruptive things. These aren't bad things, but can distract us from building a relationship with God. Take 10 minutes every day from the time you spend on facebook or tv, and use that time to pray. Put God back at the center of your heart and mind.
4. Keep it alive
-A prayer life that isn't kept up is like a pond with no water flowing in or out. It becomes stagnant. There's no oxygen coming in, and it becomes uninhabitable. All you’ll find is scum and mosquitos. Nobody likes mosquitos; don't be that person. Yet a person who cultivates their relationship with God in prayer finds a much different picture. There is fresh water flowing in and out of the pond. It is life giving! There are flowers and trees that grow along the sides. Your prayer life will affect the other areas of your life.
5. Let it transform you!
-Practice makes perfect. The entire Christian life, including prayer, is something that we have to work on to become better at it. God can do amazing things in us through our reaching out to him in prayer! 'Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven' (St. Ephraem of Syria).
1. Be Yourself!
-You don't need to look like a statue of St. Francis when you pray. In fact, you don't have to look like anything except for you when you pray. We are created to be in communion with God and for him to have a relationship with us. He doesn't want a copied version of a previous saint! He created you with your own unique traits and passions and wants you to flaunt them and let them shine! Come to him as you are.
2. "Teach us to pray" - Luke11:1
-Jesus' apostles asked Him these words, and that conversation resulted in what we call the 'Our Father' prayer. If his own apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, how much more should we ask him to teach us to pray! Ask God to help you and know that He listens. 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you'
3. Hit the brakes!
-The world we live in today is surrounded by media and disruptive things. These aren't bad things, but can distract us from building a relationship with God. Take 10 minutes every day from the time you spend on facebook or tv, and use that time to pray. Put God back at the center of your heart and mind.
4. Keep it alive
-A prayer life that isn't kept up is like a pond with no water flowing in or out. It becomes stagnant. There's no oxygen coming in, and it becomes uninhabitable. All you’ll find is scum and mosquitos. Nobody likes mosquitos; don't be that person. Yet a person who cultivates their relationship with God in prayer finds a much different picture. There is fresh water flowing in and out of the pond. It is life giving! There are flowers and trees that grow along the sides. Your prayer life will affect the other areas of your life.
5. Let it transform you!
-Practice makes perfect. The entire Christian life, including prayer, is something that we have to work on to become better at it. God can do amazing things in us through our reaching out to him in prayer! 'Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven' (St. Ephraem of Syria).