7. Commit to a small amount of time in the morning to start out with.
Like any resolution, forming a habit of prayer starts with small steps. Try starting your day out with prayer – even if it is just a morning offering it puts the day’s challenges and joys into perspective.
Saint Peter Julian Eymard said: “In order to succeed in it (prayer), it should be done when we first awaken when our whole being is calm and recollected. We need to make our meditation before anything else.
8. Keep your thoughts towards Heaven
Ultimately, our goal as Christians is Heaven. Prayer allows us a glimpse into the eternal praise and adoration that eternity will offer. In our time of prayer, don’t forget that we on a journey to Heaven during our time here on earth.
Saint John Vianney, patron saint of priests wrote: “My little children, your hearts, are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us.”
9. Try not to only ask small things of God
When we pray, it is easy to request the human-size answers to our petitions. Instead of asking God to assist us in human ways, fully trust in His supernatural presence and abilities. St. Teresa of Avila said: “You pay God a compliment when by asking great things of Him.” Trust that He will provide with God-sized answers.
10. Remember that short and sweet is okay
While some of us are blessed with the ability to carry on long heart to heart conversations with God and engage in lengthy meditation, some of us struggle to make it through just five minutes of prayer. If length of time for praying is holding you back from talking and listening to God, don’t worry. Saint Benedict said: “Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of Divine grace.”
11. Work to drive the devil crazy
The one who loves that we shirk away from prayer is the devil. When we are aware of the voice of God, the nudging of the devil is easier to avoid. But when we neglect prayer and scripture, we are more susceptible to the words of the devil. Work so that the devil hates your prayer life.
Saint Anthony Abbot said: “The devil dreads fasting, prayer, humility, and good works: He is not able even to stop my mouth who speak against him. The illusions of the devil soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross. The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He triumphed over and disarmed them.”
12. Learn from temptations
We can pray against temptations, but sometimes God doesn’t remove them from our lives. Maybe during prayer, you are tempted to let your mind wander towards a situation from earlier on in the day, or think about what is for dinner. Don’t let the continued temptation hinder your prayer life. Instead, let it transform your prayer life by conterminously offering the temptations themselves to god.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote: “It often happens that we pray God to deliver us from some dangerous temptation, and yet God does not hear us but permits the temptation to continue troubling us. In such a case, let us understand that God permits even this for our greater good. When a soul in temptation recommends itself to God, and by His aid resists, O how it then advances in perfection.
Add comment