Ever wonder why they call it the \u201cpractice of prayer\u201d? I think it\u2019s because we\u2019re all amateurs at it, doing it for the love of it. You don\u2019t practice prayer the way a concert pianist practices a Chopin \u00e9tude, getting it perfect for a performance.<\/p>\n
You practice prayer because it\u2019s a tool for life. You don\u2019t expect an audience (beyond the heavenly one). I like the word \u201cpractice\u201d because it gets rid of the performance anxiety. Trying to pray is<\/em> praying. Practice is<\/em> perfect.<\/p>\n Here for the New Year are some prayer practices you might want to try. Some might work for you, some might not, but remember: However you pray, you can\u2019t fail. However you\u2019re doing it, you\u2019re doing it just right.<\/p>\n Flash prayers for a busy day.<\/strong> Breathe in the love of God.<\/strong> Use one prayer.<\/strong> Give it five minutes a day.<\/strong> Pray for others.<\/strong> Ever wonder why they call it the \u201cpractice of prayer\u201d? I think it\u2019s because we\u2019re all amateurs at it, doing it for the love of it. You don\u2019t practice prayer the way a concert pianist practices a Chopin \u00e9tude, getting it perfect for a performance. You practice prayer because it\u2019s a tool for life. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":30844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[60],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-24411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-pray","tag-new-years"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nYears ago a friend of mine who was in the movie business (talk about tense work) introduced me to this concept. She described being in tough meetings that would sometimes get contentious. \u201cI would zap a prayer across the table at someone, mentally reminding them how much they were loved … Sometimes I could feel the tension go out of the room.\u201d That checkout girl at the supermarket who is taking forever and never smiles? Why not zap her? It\u2019s certainly better than getting steamed up about her.<\/p>\n
\nRecovering from surgery several years ago, I had terrible problems falling asleep. Sure, there were painkillers to take, but I hated the side effects, and it wasn\u2019t the physical pain as much as the psychic pain that kept me up. I would do something my friend Jim recommended when he got too stressed out in his job search. With each breath I would remind myself, \u201cYou are loved by God.\u201d Breathe in God\u2019s love, breathe out God\u2019s love. I could actually hear my heartbeat slow and feel my body relax. Did I fall asleep immediately? No, but I became more calm.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve used the Jesus Prayer ever since my minister friend Arthur Caliandro introduced it to me 20 years ago. \u201cJesus Christ, have mercy upon me. Make haste to help me. Rescue me and save me. Let thy will be done in my life.\u201d It\u2019s an ancient practice. The advantage of learning one prayer and using it frequently is that you don\u2019t have to concentrate. You can pray with the spirit. I feel like my body settles down when it hears the familiar words and I become more open to the life of the spirit. Take any short prayer, part of a Psalm or the Lord\u2019s Prayer, and let it live in you.<\/p>\n
\nIs that so much to ask? Five minutes a day in a quiet place with your eyes closed and no interruptions. Want to do more? That\u2019s fine, but don\u2019t give yourself an impossible goal to follow. The trainers at the gym wisely stress that a reasonable workout is much better than an ambitious one that has you giving up in frustration after a week or two. Five minutes will give you a lot, especially if you do it in the same place every day. All those external stimuli\u2014the feel of the chair you\u2019re sitting in, the sound of the birds outside\u2014will be your own personal call to worship.<\/p>\n
\nCreate a mental list of the people who need help. The list will change constantly. When people discover that you\u2019re a praying person, they\u2019ll give you requests. The list will get long, but don\u2019t be weary. You\u2019re being given an incredible opportunity to grow in compassion. You can write the names down, but I prefer to keep them in my head. Pulling up each name, remembering a face, thinking of a need, it keeps me in a prayerful place. Sometimes it feels like a big party, all those people in my head, but there\u2019s no mess to clean up afterward. Just the welcome reminder\u2014and it will come\u2014that a prayer has been answered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"