FINDING TIME FOR PRAYER

Are you struggling to find time to pray in the mornings? One of our readers, Aleena has a great suggestion as to how to start each day reflecting on the day ahead.

PRAYER IS IMPORTANT

Spending time in personal prayer is very important for our spiritual life. It strengthens our relationship with God and it gives us the power to move mountains. (Matthew 17:20) We all need to spend some quality time each day in prayer, thanking God for all He does for us, saying sorry for the things we do wrong and asking for His help and guidance for ourselves and for others.

TOO BUSY TO PRAY

I know that The Holy Spirit has been given to me in my Baptism and Confirmation and He will help me to pray but do you, like me, struggle to ft personal prayer into an already busy life. Although I have so many good intentions, other things get in the way, particularly at the start of the day. I really want to begin the morning by praising and thanking God and asking Him to guide my day.

GOOD INTENTIONS

Ever since I attended a residential retreat called the School of Evangelisation I have tried to make prayer a priority, intending to spend at least twenty minutes each day with the Lord. At first I used to go to my room, kneel down and pray. However, as we all know, our good intentions fade and I started leaving it for later, and often ended up not doing it at all!

A SIMPLE SOLUTION

I have found a simple solution to make sure that I spend some time in prayer every morning. I pray in the shower! There are a number of reasons why this works for me. I have a shower each morning so I can make it part of my daily routine. I used to sing to myself in the shower so praying comes naturally for me. It’s relaxing. The water is warm, there are no distracting noises and no parents or siblings will come in and disturb me. I find that I do naturally think about the day ahead when I am showering, so it’s the ideal time to talk to God about it and listen to him in the silence of my heart. I also feel less awkward and my prayer becomes interesting and purposeful!

A GOOD START

This of course is not the full extent of my prayer for the day but it gives me a good start and encourages me to pray throughout my busy day. “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)