4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from thy commandments and ordinances; 6 we have not listened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. – Daniel 9:4-6 (RSVCE)
Many of us have the traditional view of prayer as kneeling down at church or at your beside, closing our eyes and reciting prayers passed down to us from our parents, teachers or scripture reading. That is beautiful and it is a vibrant part of our Christian life.
Many times throughout the day, one may feel the urge to pray to God but finds that they are not in what we may consider an appropriate place. Perhaps you find yourself in an office meeting, on the factory floor, out in the midst of the community shopping, or simply having a cup of coffee with a friend engrossed in conversation. Many of us in those situations simply put off our urge to pray for a later, more appropriate time. Many times that appropriate time never materializes. Life simply gets in the way – children and spouses needing or demanding attention, household chores, school work and study, sports and recreation or simply just the tiredness after a long demanding day.
How does one reconcile their prayer life with their daily lived life?
Why not make your daily lived life one long beautiful prayer to God. As beautiful as it is to kneel down and pray to God (and I strongly encourage it at every opportunity), there are many other ways to pray. These are simply a few among many. I will outline 3 different approaches to prayer that I use,
Conversations With God:
I use this technique through my day. I simply initiate a conversation with God. I speak to him as I would with my own father. I greet him at the start of of my day and I share my thoughts and ideas, concerns and observations with God. An important aspect of this way of praying is to keep it a two-way conversation. I allow quiet time to reflect and listen to God. One cannot keep listening to one’s own voice. It is amazing when one allows for silent time what reflections and insights one receives.
Dedicate an Activity to God and Ask for Spiritual Guidance:
I try never to waste an activity for the sake of itself. What I mean is besides enjoying, or in some cases, putting up with, a required or desired activity, I make sure to ask God to provide spiritual insight, reflection or guidance through that activity.
For example, I regularly ( or at least try to regularly) work out at the gym. As I go through my cycle of physical activities I ask God to help me as my urge to quit increases. I ask God to allow me to suffer through the these minor inconveniences . Through these minor inconveniences I am able to take on and get through greater meaningful ones. I also reflect on our Lord Jesus Christ’s suffering on the cross and my minuscule suffering, inconsequential suffering, placing my suffering into a deeper, more focused perceptive not only in the gym but through my daily life. My suffering pales – in fact does not even register – in comparison to the sacrifice our Lord faced. Through this reflection, I am then brought to reflect on the true suffering of my fellow brothers and sisters that share life with me. For example those persecuted Christians in many parts of the world. I reflect on the sick, the dying, the starving, the poor. I can go on and on. I then ask myself, “What can I do help my fellow brothers and sisters?” I find that through the opening of my inconveniences, I am led to a deeper, more thoughtful approach to my life and the life of those that surround me. It also allows for self-reflection. How can I be a better person? How can I be of better service to the Lord our God?
Listen Listen Listen:
We all love to hear the sound of our voices. We love to pontificate and speak our minds and comment on everything including the kitchen sink! On and on it goes. How smart I am! How insightful! I sure told him/her! In different variations we all participate in such activities. It becomes all about the self – and I am probably one of the worst offenders!
How do I use this to opportunity in prayer? I simply ask the Lord to give me the strength to listen to what the other is saying. To take in deeply what the other person is saying. I ask the Lord to speak to me through the other person. I ask the Lord to do so whether the other person speaks to me in joy, in anger, in frustration, in happiness, in self-interest – in any form – nothing is difficult for the Lord. The Lord our God can speak to us in all forms. This is simply one.
by divesting myself of my own self interest and focusing on the other person I am showing respect for what the other is saying. At the very least I am allowing the other person to have their say. More importantly, as I move from self-interest to the other person’s interest, I am allowing for full communication. It is at this point that the Lord speaks to us. Through the other person. Even in their anger and frustration. I reflect on what the other feels. I ask myself why they feel that way. I wander if I do or act the same way. I ask the Lord to keep me humble in my listening so that I can hear the voice of the Lord rather than my own voice. I listen in prayer.
I have simply attempted to provide three very simple prayer methods that one can use every single day of their lives. Another resource is The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything by Fr. James Martin, S.J., specifically, Chapter 7. Can you come up with others? Please share them!
Copyright 2015, Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo holds a Master of Arts - Integrated Studies from Athabasca University. His major interests are Culture, Work, Organizations and Leadership, within a context of Catholic Social Teaching Principles. He writes from Canada.
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