Wednesday, December 2, 2015

One way to pray ...

1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
Remember that God is near you. Take a moment to invite him into your time of prayer. Meet him as if your are meeting a good friend.

2. Ask God for his assistance.
Ask that he would help in your mediation. Pray that God uses this time to draw you closer to him.

3. Read over a passage of Scripture or some other spiritual work.
This spiritual reading can be the words of the Pope, Scripture, or your favorite Christian author.

4. Take some time to reflect and think about what you have read.
Your goal is not to necessarily learn something, but to enter more into a relationship with Jesus, to understand yourself and God more intimately.  Listen to what God is trying to tell you.

5. Have a conversation with God about your reflections and thoughts.
In this stage, you want to ask yourself:  What stood out to you in your spiritual reading? What is God trying to tell you through what you just read? What feelings arise in your heart?  Talk to God about these things.

6. Conclude your time in prayer.
In your conclusion, thank God for your time in prayer, petition him for your needs and the needs of others.  Take the insights you have gained and put them into action.  For example, you may have felt the call to forgive someone.  Go and do it.  Maybe you heard the call to be more faithful to prayer.


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