Learning to Pray

 

Let me share what a friend shared about how he learned "how to pray." 

 

The first time I ever tried to pray, I was 18 years old. I was doing a lot of searching at that time in my life: searching, searching for myself, searching for my place in the world. But most particularly, I was searching for God, whether or not he existed, and if he existed, who he was and what he wanted for me. And so I got it in my head that if I wanted to figure out who God was and what he wanted, I should just ask him. So I decided one night to try and pray. And I'd only ever seen people really praying on TV when they would sit and kneel at their bed and fold their hands and pray. So I get down on my knees, I folded my hands to pray. And I got there, and I had no idea what to do next. I had all the desire to pray, all the desire to talk to God, but I had no clue what to say. It wasn't like God had a telephone number I could just call him up and be like, "Hey, I want to talk to you. Are you real? What do you want from me?" It was far more awkward.

I did that for about a year, to be honest. Every night, before I went to bed, I would kneel down at my bed, fold my hands, and search for the words to describe what was going on in my mind, in my heart. And then about a year into doing this, I read Rediscover Catholicism. And in that book, Matthew has this line where he says, "The Bible is the greatest treasury of prayer. When I am weak, when I am lost, when I am uncertain, when I don't know what to say, I turn to the Psalms." And so that's what I did. I got an old family Bible, I opened it up to the first Psalm, and I prayed the Psalm. And I did this every single night. And it was the Psalms who taught me how to pray. They gave me the words, they gave me the praise, they gave me all that I needed to learn how to talk to God and share what was going on in the deepest parts of my heart. And it totally changed my life.

 

So if I could go back to my 18-year-old self and give one piece of advice getting started in prayer, I would say go to the greatest treasury of prayer there is. Go to the Psalms. And the Psalms will teach you how to pray.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we learn to pray and humbly ask the Big Question: “What do you think I should do?

 

How to Pray

 

Let me suggest that for the next 21 days before Easter, you find 10 minutes in your busy schedule to pray. Here is a sample of how to get in the habit of daily prayer for the rest of your life.  

Find a quiet spot, in your home, or better yet in church and start your prayer with…

1.    Gratitude: Begin by thanking God, like talking to trusted friend, for whatever you are most grateful for today. ie. I didn’t get killed in a car accident.

2.    Awareness: Think about your past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the best version of yourself. ie. I got grumpy because I didn’t get my way.

3.    Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced today and explore what God might be trying to say to you. ie. I stopped working for a change and went outside to enjoy the sunshine.

4.    Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace. ie. I could spend the whole ten minutes telling God how impatient I am but He already knows that.

5.    Freedom: Speak with God how he is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the best version of yourself. ie. I guess it’s OK to think about what God wants me to do in my next adventure.

6.    Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless them. ie. Bless all my parishioners in church, online and Sonshine Friends and keep them healthy and safe from the virus.

7.    Finish by praying the Our Father.

Could these words change your life every day, maybe forever.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we learn to pray and humbly ask the Big Question: “What do you think I should do?

 

Fasting Prayer

 

We are asked during Lent to Fast, Pray, and give Alms.  Our Lenten theme for 2021 is to come out of the darkness into the Light. Let me focus your attention on Fasting as a way that will really feeds your soul. By all means, continue to limit your food intake to one full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and refrain from eating meat on Fridays – but let me share another way of looking at “fasting” that is more than limiting calories but as a way into the light of Christ: 

 

Fasting Prayer

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that as we continue our journey this Lent we truly believe God wants our friendship for He sits with us in silence, rejoices with us, laughs with us, celebrates with us, supports us in tough times, and walks with us in our day-to-day life. Feast of Faith.