How to pray effectively

1. Connecting with God at Mass: The Eucharist (Mass) is the prayer of the Church par excellence since it includes Christ himself praying for us in his sacrifice. We should participate actively in Mass all the time. God is especially present there for the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ himself under the form of bread and wine. 2. How to connect with God elsewhere: We should also realize that communing or connecting with God is not only at Mass because God is everywhere and the Church is the people of God everywhere. Scripture tells us we should pray through the day but without neglecting our work or other people. All sorts of happenings can remind us of God’s presence. If you are worried or suffering, you may want to say something like “I know, Lord, that you are with me. Help me to trust in you and accept my little suffering without bitterness as a small share in your suffering love for us”. If the sunset is gorgeous, thank God for making this universe so delightful. If someone shouts at you, be patient and pray for him – he may be hurting for whatever reason that you likely do not know…You can use all occasions and events as opportunities to raise your mind and soul to God. 3. Forms of prayer: vocal prayer (speak to God such as in the community celebration of Mass in Church); meditation (meditate on readings from Scriptures, liturgy or spiritual writings); contemplative prayer (attention is fixed on the Lord – intense mystical love of God which is an advanced form of prayer). In addition to public prayers which are essential and in which we share physically and spiritually at Church, there are also private prayers in which we share spiritually by praying for each other. The next points are mainly for private prayers. 4. When and where to pray? Choose a suitable time and a quiet place to pray everyday. Jesus himself recommends that we go to our private room, close the door, and pray to the Father in secret (Matthew 6:6). Choose a time when you are not sleepy and a place where you do not have noise around. Many Christians pray and thank God after they get up in the morning and before they go to bed at night as well as before and after meals. 5. How long to pray? Start with, say, 10-20 minutes and incrementally increase it. It is more important to be able to maintain what you committed to than to commit to a time you cannot keep. Prayer, like any other activity, is learned and so it is harder at the beginning, and may have no feelings initially but as you persevere, you will benefit more and will find joy in the Lord. The quality of prayers is more important than the quantity. It is better to offer a few prayers with depth of attention than many repeated with little care or in a rushing way, but this does not mean that we reduce our quality prayer to almost no time with God. 6. Meditation: Collect yourself (maybe by recalling the divine presence). Read a passage from the Bible (Psalms are beautiful prayers), or perhaps from the life of a saint or a prayer from the Church’s liturgy. Then reflect on what you read by trying to apply it to your own situation and life and by conversing with the Lord about it. Avoid distraction of thought – this takes training - and focus on something specific and resolve to change it so that the action may match the prayer. If audible reading helps you focus on your reading then by all means do it. 7. Prayer is more than asking or thinking: Prayer involves more than only thinking, and love is its core. It includes examining your conscience, being sorry for your sins and faults, asking for forgiveness and petitioning the Lord for his help, adoring and praising God, thanking him and recalling to mind all the good things you achieved with his help. Prayer involves listening as Samuel said “Speak Lord for your servant is listening”. It also includes praying for others as Moses prayed for his people in the desert. 8. What to pray about: Pray for all the needs and blessings in this life in every endeavour, but above all pray for eternal life with God which alone gives authentic meaning to our existence. There is nothing fundamentally wrong in being materially rich - David was king and is a great saint. However it is important that we do not get too attached to material ownership, pleasures and pride. 9. Important decisions: Jesus prayed intensely before all his decisive moments: before his baptism and mission, in the night before his crucifixion and death, and at his election of the 12 apostles…Likewise we should pray also before all our decisive moments to discern God’s will and seek his blessing. Jesus prayed in full trust of his father even when in agony and called him “Abba” (daddy) ”Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” and the Father answered Jesus prayer beyond all hope by raising him from the dead …Likewise we should trust God our father. 10. Frequent Short Prayers: In addition to Our Father and Hail Mary learn to pray short sentence prayers. “Zealous Christians have a certain technique that they apply to secure the continual remembrance of God more firmly. It is the constant repetition of a short prayer, ordinarily either ‘Lord, have mercy’ or ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner’” (From the letters of bishop St. Theophane the Recluse) 11. Does God change his mind when he answers prayers? Not really. God always wants us to be fulfilled and happy. He knows that only in him will we be truly fulfilled. But he does not force us to be close to him since he respects our freedom. If someone was sick and was healed as a result of a prayer, it does not mean that God changed his mind and healed him. It means that as a result of prayers (his prayers or others prayers in heaven or on earth) he came closer to God so he received the will of God which includes his healing and well being. God always wants people to be saved - only those who refuse to be with God are not in his heaven. Prayer helps us to be brought closer to God and align our will with God’s will as the Virgin Mary did when in trust she accepted to be Christ’s mother. Her cooperation with God resulted in the incarnation and salvation. Prayer restores us to God’s likeness. When Abraham gave the Lord his son, he conformed to the likeness of the Father who does not spare his only son for our salvation. It is coming closer to God that brings about healing and restores us to to God’s likeness. 12. Perseverance in prayer: Never give up, never despair. Continue to pray. For her perseverance, the importunate widow was rewarded (Luke 18: 1-8), and the tax collector was rewarded for his humility (Luke 18: 9-13). Jesus answered the cries of the Canaanite- a stranger- and the good thief who called on him in the last moment. The bleeding woman and the tears of the sinful woman prayed in silence and they were answered. Our God and saviour is a God of hope. Even if you find yourself surrounded with difficulties or wretched in misery, remember that Christ conquered death itself and triumphed to life. There is no permanent defeat in Christianity. Period. “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer, and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7)