38. How to pray better

38. HOW TO PRAY BETTER THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER DISPOSES US TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF FAITH AND GROW IN FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD. Compendium 566-577 Psalm 27 1. Where to pray? The best place is in church before the Blessed Sacrament. At home it is good to have a special quiet spot. 2. When to pray? We should pray morning and evening prayers, before and after meals, whenever faced with a temptation or difficulty and as often as we can so as to punctuate the day and have a prayerful spirit in everything we do. 3. What to pray? The daily scripture readings are excellent and present the old and new testaments side by side so that the old is the foundation and leads to the new and the new reveals and confirms the old. Together they are the Word of God that transforms us and builds the kingdom of God. The daily readings from the mass are a perfect bible study program.The Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Rosary, Mercy Chaplet, the Angelus, Come Holy Spirit, the Magnificat, a favorite prayer from one of the saints such as the Memorare from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, "Make me an instrument of your peace", etc.the Liturgy of the Hours. 4. FORMS OF PRAYER: Vocal (alone or with a group); Contemplative (a gift of the Holy Spirit which allows us to surrender to Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration - like lovers gazing at each other and content to just be together in silence), Meditation (marshaling our interior powers and focusing on the mysteries of faith and relationships through readings). 5. Distractions: focusing on ourselves and material concerns instead of the things "above". 6. We must ask the Holy Spirit to create in us a clean heart and steadfast spirit with knowledge of our sinfulness and need for repentance and humility and we will begin to see the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit transform our heart and become alive in our daily life. 7. When our prayer seams "dry" we must use willpower to be vigilant and persevere. Mother Teresa felt little or no consolation for 50 years but kept on loving Jesus in each person 8. By meditating on the Passion of Jesus (stations of the cross, sorrowful mysteries of the rosary) we enter into his constant prayer for us at the right hand of the Father. 9. Prayer is a conversation with God, the wisest and most loving Father and Creator. Listening and conversing with him guarantees a steady growth in wisdom, knowledge, understanding, peace and joy. 10. Prayer is just as essential as air and water and food. Without those our body quickly dies. Without prayer our soul decays and dies. “Seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened…” Jesus has promised us the solution to all problems begins with prayer. Try it and you will be convinced.