I just started praying the rosary and saying prayers at night and i find it hard!

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rianredd1088

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I just started praying the rosary and saying prayers at night and i find it hard!! I felt like i have done a 180 in my life and i want prayer to be a part of my life. I kneel in front of a religious corner and i find it hard to meditate on what i’m saying, and i feel like im just saying words, which is what i don’t want. I found out that kneeling is hard on my knees and for some reason, i find it hard to breath when i kneel. I think i’m ganna start saying my prayers sitting down. Does anyone have any suggestions for my dificulty to meditate on what im sayng. Is it bad for me to pray sitting down?
 
If you had just started boxing a couple of weeks ago, you probably wouldn’t think that you’re very good at it yet.

Specific types of prayer, like anything else, can get easier to do ‘well’ with practice.

Maybe, for now, the effort of just trying to pray a rosary well is pleasing to God …
 
Our prayers are always imperfect. I frequently ask God to forgive me for my inability and lack of focus. My prayer life has improved some, but it will always be a struggle because I know that I can always grow in prayer. If we truly love God, we will never be fully satisfied with how we pray or even how frequently we might pray. We will always hunger for more. That is part of the beauty of prayer and our relationship to God.

I believe you are off to a good start. You are thirsting for that intimate prayer that will come with time and love of God. Completely surrender yourself to God. Raise the white flag and let God have his way with every part of your life. As Sister Anne Shields says, “pray and never lose heart.”
 
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rianredd1088:
I just started praying the rosary and saying prayers at night and i find it hard!! I felt like i have done a 180 in my life and i want prayer to be a part of my life.
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Wonderful! You have taken a big step - now maybe some baby steps will help keep you going and keep you from getting discouraged.

Try saying one decade of the rosary at a time. And sit down or stand if it is better for you. There is a little book called the Scriptural Rosary that gives a pertinent bible verse to say before each Hail Mary, and that can be helpful for meditation.

There is also another wonderful way to pray:
  1. Read from the Scriptures for about 5 minutes.
  2. Say an Our Father, and when you get to “as we forgive those who trespass against us” stop and think of anyone who you have been angry with, or has hurt you, etc. and tell God that you forgive that person.
  3. Ask the Holy Spirit to come over you.
  4. Remain silent, and focus your thoughts on some aspect or image of Christ - His crucifixion, some event from His ministry, His birth, His words from the cross or the sermon on the mount - you get the idea.
    Just think on Him… remember what the Bible says -
    “Be still, and know I am with you.”
  5. When you can’t focus your meditation any more, stop. You’re done
    .
    If you can do this for 15 minutes a day, God will transform you as He wills. He only waits at the door of our hearts for us to open it to Him.
God bless you!
 
Perhaps kneel on something more comfortable.

Pray to be able to pray.

For the Rosary, try to consider how the mystery applies to the prayer.

For example, when praying the mystery of the crucifixion, you could think of Mary’s experience of her Son’s crucifixion as you say “Hail Mary…”

God is the creator - let Him create you and your prayer. He Himself fills our prayer and in fact is the source of our prayer in the sense that we can’t pray without His help.

Keep up the good work!🙂
 
I have trouble concentrating myself, and I’ve found that two things help.

First, get a recording of the Rosary on tape or CD (EWTN has four different recordings for each of the mysteries). You can find them here. If you have a CD burner, put it on a CD and you can pray with them. I find that playing the recordings when I pray helps me a lot.

Also, try other prayers if that helps (it sure helped me!). For example, have you ever tried praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet? It’s easy to remember, but it’s a beautiful prayer. You can find the prayers and information here and EWTN has two recordings of the Chaplet available here.

Hope that helps some!
 
Some great suggestions so far! For me, I find that if I take time to **meditate on the mystery itself ** before I beginning praying the Our Father and Hail Mary that it gives me something to think about and picture as I pray.

For example –

The Annunciation
Sometimes I read the angel’s announcement to Mary in Luke’s gospel. I think about the trust Mary had in Our Lord to say yes. I think about the overwhelming feeling of love she must have experienced when the Holy Spirit descended upon her. I ask Our Lord to help me to say “yes” in whatever He asks of me.

The Visitation
I love this mystery! I think of the charity of Mary as she goes to visit her elderly kinswomen Elizabeth during her pregnancy. I think of the grace given to Elizabeth to recognize Mary as the “Mother of my Lord.” I think of the joy they both felt as Elizabeth’s child, John, leaps in her womb for joy at being in the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. I pray that I may recognize the presence of Jesus in others and that I may bring Him to all I’m in contact with each day.

Anyway, I think you get the idea. **Make the mysteries real ** by really thinking about them, applying them to your life. I find that my insights and prayers change depending on what’s happening in my own life or what intentions I may be offering as I pray the Rosary.

Continue, be persistant, remember that the devil does not like the Holy Rosary so he may be tempting you not to pray or making you feel as though you’re not doing it well or doing it right. Don’t let the evil one fool you. Our Lord and Our Lady love our attempts at prayer, however imperfect we are!

Also, you might want to try praying a little earlier in the day or evening. I find sometimes if I wait until before bedtime that it’s difficult to concentrate. Try right after dinner, or at lunchtime. See what time works best for you!
 
Having a little trouble concentrating on the Roasary…huh?

For awhile in my life, I was overmedicated on prescription drugs (not on purpose…long story) and my life was gradually turning upside down….so to my prayer life. I did one thing right well …………maybe two things right. My prayer focus shifted to “His” will (not mine) be done and thru a fair amount of tribulation (effect of meds/disease etc) learned a little bit about humility. The latter took a serious swing at my spiritual pride and opened the door to saying a serious contemplative rosary. So if I were in your situation I would go to confession (helps clean the prayer slate so to speak) and recite the litany of humility (see below) before each rosary. This (humility) part seems to remind me of my mistakes……plenty of them…which in turn allows my rosary to become a prayer of petition…a real and definite reason for praying and contemplating on the rosary. Sure it can be said that the rosary is just a bunch of rote (spelling??) prayers……but sometimes it is all we can pray and barely at that.

And ya know what………some of them rosaries we say can take quite awhile…….don’t give up….never give up!!

Lots of good advice previously mentioned. Never underestimate the power of prayer, my friend.

Thank you Mary, thank you Catholic Church for the rosary….thank you God

ybiC

larry j

littany of humility:
ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/humility.htm
 
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sandyeggo:
Wonderful! You have taken a big step - now maybe some baby steps will help keep you going and keep you from getting discouraged.

Try saying one decade of the rosary at a time. And sit down or stand if it is better for you. There is a little book called the Scriptural Rosary that gives a pertinent bible verse to say before each Hail Mary, and that can be helpful for meditation.

There is also another wonderful way to pray:
  1. Read from the Scriptures for about 5 minutes.
  2. Say an Our Father, and when you get to “as we forgive those who trespass against us” stop and think of anyone who you have been angry with, or has hurt you, etc. and tell God that you forgive that person.
  3. Ask the Holy Spirit to come over you.
  4. Remain silent, and focus your thoughts on some aspect or image of Christ - His crucifixion, some event from His ministry, His birth, His words from the cross or the sermon on the mount - you get the idea.
    Just think on Him… remember what the Bible says -
    “Be still, and know I am with you.”
  5. When you can’t focus your meditation any more, stop. You’re done
    .
    If you can do this for 15 minutes a day, God will transform you as He wills. He only waits at the door of our hearts for us to open it to Him.
God bless you!
Click to expand...
Excellent advice, and I agree.
 
Gosh this is a great subject. Well, it’s 2 am; I just finished my nightly rosary…Our Blessed Mother wakes me up each night to spend some quiet time with me…I know she is here…I mean really…so while I’m praying the rosary, meditating on the mysteries, I watch for her smile and every once in awhile she just holds me…
Hey, she is wonderful!!
All your suggestions above are very good.
Peace be with you.
 
The Scriptural Rosary book mentioned above can be obtained from
Christianica
1807 Prairie Street
P.O. Box 685
 
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rianredd1088:
I just started praying the rosary and saying prayers at night and i find it hard!! I felt like i have done a 180 in my life and i want prayer to be a part of my life. I kneel in front of a religious corner and i find it hard to meditate on what i’m saying, and i feel like im just saying words, which is what i don’t want. I found out that kneeling is hard on my knees and for some reason, i find it hard to breath when i kneel. I think i’m ganna start saying my prayers sitting down. Does anyone have any suggestions for my dificulty to meditate on what im sayng. Is it bad for me to pray sitting down?
Click to expand...
I think everyone who has already posted above has given you a lot of good advice. I use little books with quotes from the Bible or other sources which relate to each mystery. That always helps me to stay focused on the mystery.

The only thought I might add is that it’s not bad for you to pray sitting down. If you want to mortify yourself sometimes by praying on your knees for part or all of the rosary, that’s good and fine. If praying sitting down helps you to focus on your prayer, there’s nothing wrong with that. I had the problem of not being able to concentrate much because of the pain in my knees, so I usually sit during my prayers now, unless I’m in the adoration chapel or at church. I can pray longer now and concentrate better. The only danger is falling asleep in my rocker. 😃 That’s why I try to say my prayers in the morning or as soon as I get off work.

No matter what, persevere in prayer! God appreciates all your efforts!

God Bless,
Kathleen
 
The Scriptural Rosary mentioned above can be found at:

Christianica
1807 Prairie Street
P.O. Box 685
Glenview, IL 60025

It’s really great, I use it often.

Another good resource in addition to the tapes mentioned above is the Virtual Rosary at www.virtualrosary.org. It is set up with music, a scripture verse, and an intention that has been posted by another user for every Hail Mary. You can also post your own intentions.

Lately I’ve been using the VR almost exclusively because I’ve been having the same problems with distraction and concentration that you mentioned, and I find it a huge help.

I hope these ideas posted in this thread help you, good luck and God Bless you in your journey.
 
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rianredd1088:
I just started praying the rosary and saying prayers at night and i find it hard!! I felt like i have done a 180 in my life and i want prayer to be a part of my life. I kneel in front of a religious corner and i find it hard to meditate on what i’m saying, and i feel like im just saying words, which is what i don’t want. I found out that kneeling is hard on my knees and for some reason, i find it hard to breath when i kneel. I think i’m ganna start saying my prayers sitting down. Does anyone have any suggestions for my dificulty to meditate on what im sayng. Is it bad for me to pray sitting down?
Click to expand...
Bad to pray sitting down ?

Not at all !
I believe that just by praying at all , your doing what Jesus asked us to do. For He said ( I forget which chapter and verse specifically) for us to go into a quiet place to pray. That you’re giving of your time to the relationship of Jesus is important where you are at in your spiritual life right now.
Granted, kneeling is a great sign of respect and reverence for the Lord ( 'Every knee will bow" is also in the Scriptures) but I also notice people at church who, although they try to kneel, will also sit back in the pew, to help their knees.
Also, you’re having trouble breathing when you kneel. I don’t think Jesus and God would want you to pass out or anything while praying for them .

Keep up the prayers ! The Rosary is so powerful, it’ll change your life. .

:blessyou:
 
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davefl:
Gosh this is a great subject. Well, it’s 2 am; I just finished my nightly rosary…Our Blessed Mother wakes me up each night to spend some quiet time with me…I know she is here…I mean really…so while I’m praying the rosary, meditating on the mysteries, I watch for her smile and every once in awhile she just holds me…
Hey, she is wonderful!!
All your suggestions above are very good.
Peace be with you.
Click to expand...
I have had that exact experience!! I am awakened and just somehow know that I have been invited to pray, usually the Rosary… this has happened only a few times to me but it is wonderful. I have never noticed feeling as if I have missed any sleep the next day, either. You are very blessed to experience this every night! Tell Mom I said hi! 😉

Pax,

Jim
 
Jim, you are correct: tho I usually think why not turn over, go back to sleep…I have come to look forward to “our” visits…no, the sleep is never missed…and the “peace” always follows…I think you know that I mean…Peace be with you also.
 
I have heard the Holy Father quoted as saying, “It is not as important how you pray as it is that you do pray.” Hang in there, because it is not easy. But like exercise for the body, which some days is wonderful, some days feels terrible until after you’re done, and some days just is no fun at all – there is no substitute for it. The longer you’re at it, more natural it will become.
 
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