Prayers and Praying

I have been wanting to write a post about prayer for a long time but found myself in the midst of an internal battle. One would think I would have prayed on this to come to the right conclusion but rather, God intervened and sent me one reason after the other this week on why I should write this blog post.

From the beginning of Saints Helping Saints we have always held to the fact that we are a faith community first and foremost and all that we do is instilled in prayer. When I talk to people about prayer I 9 out of 10 times hear one of two things. The first is "I don't know how to pray" and the second "I am not very good about praying".  I hope through this post to cast away these insecurities and recruit you among our ranks as prayer warriors.

First "I don't know how to pray"- although you may believe this, I don't. You know how to have a conversation and prayer is a conversation with God. God is easy to talk to but sometimes it is hard to start the conversation. My suggestion is to quiet your heart, make yourself aware that you are in the presence of our Lord and begin an honest conversation. Sometimes this is as easy as a prayer of thanksgiving "Thank you Lord for this day, I enjoyed spending time with my family and look forward to another day full of your blessings tomorrow". Other times its not so easy, just like asking anyone earthly for something or trying to understand a disappointment or overcome your own sorrows these conversations are hard.  But, know that having these conversations with God are meaningful, effective and become easier with times.

Second "I am not very good about praying"- I think this statement can be taken two different ways. You either feel as if the prayers you offer up are not organized or well said or you are concerned that you aren't taking the time to pray that you would like to or you can't "find" the time to include prayer in your day. Just reading that seems silly doesn't it? I would offer that prayer can take place anytime and anyplace. I find myself often praying while in an elevator, waiting for a page to load, in the shower and while I fall asleep.

The best way, in my opinion, to overcome the thought that "I am not very good about praying" is offer up prayers immediately once you agree to pray for someone. For example: your friend tell you something terrible that has happened to someone you both know and asks you to please keep them in your prayers. Use that time right then to offer up that prayer, you may remember it again later and right when your remember it, offer up that prayer. Not pushing off opportunities to pray to a later time is a great way to keep constant prayer in your life daily.