Not Alone Series: Prayer

Thanks for coming back to join Jen and I for another week of the Not Alone Series!

I'm a big fan of prayer, but to be honest, I'm really bad at it.

Not the praying part, per say, but the making time for Him part.

I need to make prayer more of a priority. I'll be honest, it's really difficult for me to be disciplined and make my prayer life the most important thing in my day. In college, it somehow was easier to pray every day (maybe because I used it as my escape from drama and homework) but it's easy for me these days to just slowly slip away from that daily time with our Lord...but it is so crucial to my everyday life. I notice such a difference in my attitude, my energy, my outlook on life and all that I have to accomplish. 

Everything is better when I make GOD the top priority.

What I'm struggling with right now is the idea of time.

The idea that I have so much to get done that I can't possibly steal away for a half hour to run up to the chapel.

(did I mention that my office is directly beneath the chapel? yeah. no excuses.)

So I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment, but I'm beginning to slowly crawl out and I'm utilizing some of my favorite ways to pray:

1. Rote Prayer

I truly believe that rote prayer is one of the greatest gifts of our faith. When it feels that I have nothing else to say, or the emotions I feel just cannot be put into words, I turn to the simplicity of the Hail Mary, Memorare, Salve Regina, Glory Be, or Our Father. Meditating on the words and what they really mean helps me to further contemplate the mystery of our Father's love for us.

2. Novenas

Though I've never been able to complete the 33 day Consecration to Mary, I lovelovelove Novenas. They keep me accountable and hold my attention for the perfect amount of time. My favorites have been the Novena to St. Joseph and Novena to St. Anne.

2.5 praymorenovenas.com

By the way, have you heard of Pray More Novenas? It's a nifty site that will email you novenas and daily reminders during each one!

Fun fact: my boss created this website and now his wife (one of my close friends) mainly runs the site. 

So cool!

3. Journaling

I've fallen out of the habit of journaling every night, but I really love being able to write out my prayers and then go back and reflect on them. There have been times when I wrote down something really profound and then going back makes me see how things have changed, but also to see what struggles and growth I've been through.

4. Just talking.

...to the Lord, that is. I've typed before about how important I think it is to be open and totally honest in our conversations with God. This is where we get to the root of our hurt and despair. This is where we find healing. I hatehatehate cliches but you know that line about having an intimate, personal relationship with Christ? umm it's crucial. totes.

That's all I've got.

Clearly I'm not a prayer guru, but I'm learning along the way.

Next week's topic:

What I love(d) about being Single

there's so much to enjoy right now! let's share our favorites!