How to pray

[Dorothy]

Another way of praying is to read a few lines of Scripture, stop and meditate on that with the awareness that the Lord is speaking to you personally.

The important part of all prayer is an awareness that you are speaking to our loving Lord, who wants the best for you.

It is good to ask the Lord for various things you need…but that is not the totality of prayer. We need to be mindful of what He did for us and meditate on that.

 

[ready]

There are different types of prayers you can say to God: prayers of adoration, prayers of contrition, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of intercession, and prayers of supplication. It’s good to pray all of them and use your own words. Just tell God how much you adore him; tell him how sorry you are for all your sins; thank him for all he is doing for you in your life; intercede for others; and pray for yourself.

 

[T_Hope]

What about making the sign of the cross before and I pray? Do I just say “Lord Jesus, blah blah blah. Yada yada yada” or is there something I need to do before “just talking to him”.

I have had the same questions as prayer now is different than it has been for me in the past.

I’m still reading responses, but I will share with you that I noticed in our first RCIA class this past Sunday that yes, the deacon and most members of the class made the sign of the cross at the beginning and at the end of prayer.

A friend suggested sometimes beginning a personal prayer with the Lord’s Prayer, followed by 3 Hail Mary’s with the intention of an increase in faith, hope, and charity, followed by a Glory Be which is how I’ve learned to begin praying the rosary. It’s beautiful and comforting because I know God loves to hear those prayers and it helps ease me into my prayers.

With you, I’m going to continue reading responses to your question. Thanks for asking it.

Hope