Note: Although this article was written from a Catholic/Christian perspective, the ways described here may be adapted according to one’s own religious beliefs.
As a Catholic wife and mother of two, and former fulltime lay missionary, I truly believe in the importance of prayer. It can indeed “move mountains,” and yes, based on my personal experience, the family that prays together can even make miracles happen together.
Even for those who may not consider themselves “spiritual” or “religious,” prayer still is (and should be) a vital part of life that we all should take part in. In fact, many great men and women of history, like Mahatma Gandhi and Blessed Mother Teresa, believed in the importance of prayer, and emphasized that prayer is so much more than asking God for something:
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart. – Mahatma Gandhi
Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts. – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Too often though, we find ourselves making excuses such as, “I’m too busy,” or “I haven’t the time nor energy for that — what with all the things I have to do for the kids,” or, “Praying is just for when we are in Church,” and so on.
On the contrary though, there are numerous ways we can add more prayer into our lives — even the daily, mundane routines of our every day lives. By doing so, we most probably will come to realize that the saying “Seven days without prayer makes one weak” has some truth to it after all.
This Holy Week (and beyond), why not try applying these five tips for adding more prayer into your life? You’ll have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, especially “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
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Way # 1: Make idle time prayer time.
There are many instances when we find ourselves just sitting or standing somewhere, being “idle.”
For instance, for the commuters out there (like me!), we often find ourselves waiting in line for the tricycle, FX, jeep or train (or kalesa, or pedicab, or whatever other mode of transportation you usually use!). Why not convert these waiting moments into times of prayer? It may be challenging to “zone out” and focus, but it’s well worth a try!
If you’re in for a long wait, you can simply talk to God in the silence of your heart, as if you were chatting with an old friend.
You can also take this time to pray for others, too, especially those people whom you know are in need of prayers. You may even find yourself praying for the people around you (have you ever noticed how a lot of people on the MRT/LRT look so tired or “lost”?)
Of course, even those blessed with their own personal modes of transportation have “idle” time every day too — especially with our traffic jams here in the Philippines!
Instead of stressing over the long line of vehicles in front of you, why not focus on your blessings instead, and say a prayer of thanksgiving for them?
In this age of modern technology, there are also so many ways to be “plugged into prayer,” i.e. use technology to add more prayer into your daily routine. For example:
a. Download audio prayers, Bible readings, reflections, inspirational books, etc., and listen to them on your mp3 players, cellphones, CD players, etc. Here are a few useful sites:
For Catholics:
Pray As You Go – Daily Prayer for Your MP3 Player
Catholic Prayers, Devotions and More
Catholic Ipod.com – 1,000+ Free Official Catholic MP3 Downloads
For Christians of other denominations (and Catholics):
Audio Christian Teaching Series on “Prayer” by Keith Gerner
For Muslims:
Downloadable Duas (Prayers for Muslims)
b. Use your Kindles, iPads and other tablets to read inspirational material — books, Bible reading guides, quotes, etc. — there are a lot of these available online! (I was actually inspired to write this article because I recently saw a man next to me on the jeep reading the digital version of the Bible on his Kindle while we were waiting for the jeep to be filled up with passengers!)
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Way # 2: Offer up “breath prayers.”
“Breath prayers” is a concept I picked up from the book “Breath Prayers for Women,” by Betsy Williams. The book description on Amazon.com reads thus:
In our hurry-up-and-go lifestyle, many people feel today like they have little time to spend with God. Breath Prayers is a book of brief, heartfelt prayers that can help readers to spend their days enjoying God's company and surrounding their loved ones with prayer without retreating to the mountains and giving up their to-do list.
The secret is a short prayer whispered to God throughout the business of the day, allowing the experiences of the day to prompt prayer. Readers’ lives will be transformed as they learn to experience an enjoyable, relaxed, spontaneous, moment-by-moment conversation with God through simple prayers spoken in one breath, in a few words.
Even if you don’t own a copy of this book, it’s quite easy to use “breath prayers.” During your quiet time, make a list of who God is for you, or how you feel towards God, or something you’d like to ask Him for, and add to the list as you go along. For example:
1. God, You are my Rock.
2. God, I trust in You.
3. God, You are my Defender.
4. God, grant me patience! (Something parents usually need!)
5. God, thank You for my life.
6. God, lead me to the right path.
7. God, protect us.
8. God, You are our Great Provider.
You can also look up verses in the Bible (if you’re a Catholic/Christian), and compose a few “Breath Prayers” based on your selected verses. For example, “Lord, You are the Bread of Life (John 6:35);”Jesus, You are my Light, the Light of the World (John 8:12);” and “God, I know You will provide for us (Philippians 4:19).”
Once you’re done, try coming up with a “Breath Prayer” or two every day, and actively look for opportunities to use them. For example, when you’re facing a problem, say, “God, You are my Rock.” When you feel unsafe or are on the road to somewhere (like your Holy Week destination for the year), breathe the prayer, “God protect us.”
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Way # 3: Pray twice by singing.
St. Augustine of Hippo is often cited with the saying, “He who sings well, prays twice.” Try experiencing the peace and power that comes with “praying twice” or singing your prayers by listening to songs of praise and worship, like those by well-known and well-loved Christian artists Hillsong, Don Moen, Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin. Locally, we have the likes of Gary Valenciano < http://www.garyv.com/ >, Bukas Palad, and other Filipino artists, some of which are listed on Praise Inc.’s website.
Some people, however, may opt to go the more meditative, mellow route, preferring instrumental music, classic Church hymns, and maybe even Gregorian chants.
Whatever your lifestyle and music genre preference, there are surely praise and worship songs that will suit you. Once you have your preferred song playlist, you might eventually find yourself singing or humming to the tunes of your favorite songs during your everyday tasks — another way of “praying twice.”
Way # 4: Take a few minutes to meditate or just “be still.”
Psalm 46: 10 says, “Be still and know that I am God…” Too often, we find ourselves hurrying through life, and missing out on what is truly important. During the busyness of your daily life, take time out to just “be still” before your God, take deep breaths, and just marvel at the miracle of life itself.
You can even take three-minute online retreats through the Loyola Press website, or use two-minute meditations from Heartlight.org and Minute Meditations from American Catholic.org.
Other alternatives are to spend a few minutes in prayer just after you wake up; another few on your way to the office or before you start on the household chores; prolong your mealtime prayers by additional minutes in silent gratitude; and saying a five-minute prayer just before you go to sleep at night.
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Way # 5: Make work your prayer and prayer your work.
Catholic saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, preached extensively about converting work into prayer:
Your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. There you have your daily encounter with Christ. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind.
Even Hindu leader, non-violence advocate and “Father of India,” Mahatma Gandhi spoke about prayer and work:
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
In other words, every action and task that we do can be a prayer in itself, when we dedicate them to God and do it for the betterment of others. When we do this, we are actually killing two birds with one stone; we are praying and making our workload a little bit lighter by doing so.
Having these tips in mind, let’s all continue to live as if each day, minute and second were our last — by infusing our lives with prayer, we will ultimately be preparing ourselves for “the next life,” an eternity of prayer, thanksgiving, praise and worship before God Himself.
Photo by mohammadali via flickr creative commons
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