Is it a sin to not pray daily?

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flowerfleurflo

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I almost always pray daily…but if I happen to miss a day for whatever reason, is that sinful?
I know it’s lame. I know it’s totally lame to say that you love God and then just ignore Him. I try really hard to pray daily and the days when I don’t are maybe once every several months. Honestly, I have been a praying Catholic for about a year and I can think of maybe 3 days when I just did not pray. Today being one of them.

Is it necessarily wrong? If very rarely, you just feel you can’t do it?
 
Yes you absolutely need to pray everyday. The first part of the Great Commandment is to “Love the Lord your God above all things.” So you need to live you whole life for God and this can’t be done without praying everyday. St. Paul exhorts to pray constantly throughout the day every walking step if you will and every living breath. The name of the sin is called acedia which means spiritual sloth. God bless you in your journey toward God and may you never falter.
 
flowerfleurflo said:
I almost always pray daily…but if I happen to miss a day for whatever reason, is that sinful?
I know it’s lame. I know it’s totally lame to say that you love God and then just ignore Him. I try really hard to pray daily and the days when I don’t are maybe once every several months. Honestly, I have been a praying Catholic for about a year and I can think of maybe 3 days when I just did not pray. Today being one of them.

Is it necessarily wrong? If very rarely, you just feel you can’t do it?
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First of all, I would ask the question, “what do you mean by pray?”. Are you referring to formal, recited prayer; a specific time set aside etc?
Or - -
Are you talking about refusing to talk with God, to think about God, to ignore God in total?

I suspect that you are referring to the first, and not the second description.

While I agree with the poster above - it is important to remember that prayer does not need to always be “formal”. Many prayers can be simple, quick, and conversational. Prayer can be short ejaculations said during the day…they can be simple conversations one has - sharing our day with the Lord.
So - while formal prayer and time set aside for reflection is necessary to spiritual growth, it is not the “be-all-end-all” of what we call prayer.

I suspect that there is not one day that goes my that you have not prayed.

Peace
James
 
That said, it’s not exactly difficult to pray daily. Saying grace before meals is a prayer… 😛

Nah, during the school year, I would pray Lauds and Vespers daily. And now, over the summer, I’m in the Second Annual Catholic Memes Bible Challenge. This time with the much more reasonable goal of 90 days. The thing is, though. Reading the Bible counts as prayer, I would say.
 
Try this prayer when you get up in the morning.
Jesus I offer you my whole day. Be with me in my works, joys and sufferings. I offer them all to you. And if I forget to say the words, please say them for me and help me remember to tell you that I love you in everything I do all day. (And Jesus, thank you for this day!) Amen
 
flowerfleurflo said:
I almost always pray daily…but if I happen to miss a day for whatever reason, is that sinful?
I know it’s lame. I know it’s totally lame to say that you love God and then just ignore Him. I try really hard to pray daily and the days when I don’t are maybe once every several months. Honestly, I have been a praying Catholic for about a year and I can think of maybe 3 days when I just did not pray. Today being one of them.

Is it necessarily wrong? If very rarely, you just feel you can’t do it?
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I too miss praying daily sometimes and I was always wondering the same thing myself. I would if I’m honest miss 1 or 2 days a week sometimes I really get annoyed when I miss a day and try to catchup as soon as possible.
 
If one forget to pray, how on earth is that sinful?!
I think it’s more like we should pray as often a we can to avoid distance to God and we all know that distance to God makes it a lot easier to commit mortal sins than if we stay close and faithful to him.
We should really trust in the endless mercy of Christ , it seems that most of us struggles a lot with that. Do anyone even remember sister Fautines encounter with our Lord or the bandit hanging next to our Lord at the cross?
Based on those examples I can’t even imagine that we will be sentenced to eternal hellfire for not remembering to pray as often as we should.
Praying often is hugely beneficial for our spiritual life and without praying we will slip further and further away from God that’s why I think it’s so highly recommended that we pray often.
If one start to make assumptions that its sinful to forget it once in a while Im afraid we live by the law only quite similar to the Jews…
 
Is it a sin to not pray daily? 🤷 It is easier to fall into sin if I don’t.
 
flowerfleurflo said:
I almost always pray daily…but if I happen to miss a day for whatever reason, is that sinful?
I know it’s lame. I know it’s totally lame to say that you love God and then just ignore Him. I try really hard to pray daily and the days when I don’t are maybe once every several months. Honestly, I have been a praying Catholic for about a year and I can think of maybe 3 days when I just did not pray. Today being one of them.

Is it necessarily wrong? If very rarely, you just feel you can’t do it?
Click to expand...
It is not sinful to miss a day of prayer. However, we must be mindful to pray unceaseingly. Prayer does not have to be long. As I’m walking or driving, I say a Hail Mary & thank God for the day. Sometimes the most simplest of words are the most powerful.
 
I don’t think it is sin, but you may want to have a goal of growing in holiness everyday. Pray first thing in the morning before everything else and ask Jesus to walk with you throughout the day. Hand over yourself and the present day to His care. Throughout the day make it a point to converse with Him. If there are any worries, fears and anxieties, hand it over to Him. At the end of the day, thank Him for His companionship.

Repeat the next day.
 
I’ve heard numerous holy priests say that the *minimum *of prayer generally recommended to the laity by the saints and spiritual masters is 15 minutes a day, and not just recited prayers but mental prayer (meditation and praying in your own words).

In other words, saying grace before meals isn’t enough. Yes, part of the reason is that it’s wrong to neglect God, but it’s also necessary for our own spiritual health. St. Alphonsus teaches that without mental prayer, it is very hard to persevere in grace, and that therefore it is morally necessary for everyone (Great Means of Perfection, III, 1).

If you’re not sure how to fill the 15 minutes, the rosary counts as mental prayer, provided we do it correctly, because it contains not only recited prayers but also elements of meditation and using our own thoughts. It also has the advantage of conveniently focusing our attention on the major mysteries of our faith, so that we think and pray on the right things. And it takes about 15 minutes for 5 decades.

We all have days we don’t feel like praying and especially like meditating. At least I sure do. I remind myself of this truth while writing it to you – we don’t pray because it feels good, we pray because it is good and right; because we love God, and because we need it. Sometimes God rewards us with consolations, especially in the beginning of our journey, but as we grow, he may withdraw those comforts for a time, so that we learn to love him for his own sake.

It also helps to have a set time. First thing in the morning, or before you go to bed, or whenever works best for you.

May God grant us the grace to persevere in prayer!
 
TheologicalLeft said:
Yes you absolutely need to pray everyday. The first part of the Great Commandment is to “Love the Lord your God above all things.” So you need to live you whole life for God and this can’t be done without praying everyday. St. Paul exhorts to pray constantly throughout the day every walking step if you will and every living breath. The name of the sin is called acedia which means spiritual sloth. God bless you in your journey toward God and may you never falter.
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Acedia is one of the 7 deadly sins. And if you remember, they are not in and of them selves sins, but from them spring all sins. I seriously doubt that forgetting, or for whatever other reason, to pray once is considered that you are spiritually slothful. It’s a long way from missing once to never pray, or pray just in time of need. It dent’s our capacity to love. We need a prayer program, but the one who loves God, is always with him in thought and heart.
 
‘Without prayer we have neither light nor strength to advance in the way which leads to God.’
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

You can pray anywhere, any time; while travelling to work, at work, etc. It need not be a long never-ending -prayer either; just a few seconds and you are done, for instance,
The Jesus Prayer:
‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,’
Or a short prayer in your own words.
 
petra22 said:
Try this prayer when you get up in the morning.
Jesus I offer you my whole day. Be with me in my works, joys and sufferings. I offer them all to you. And if I forget to say the words, please say them for me and help me remember to tell you that I love you in everything I do all day. (And Jesus, thank you for this day!) Amen
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I forgot to tell you the best part of this… it makes your whole day into a prayer! So if you get overwhelmed by your day… you did pray, you offered it all to the Lord! 🙂
 
We have an absolute obligation to pray to God and this duty falls under the 1st Commandment. Not only that, but we are exposing ourselves to danger when we do not pray on a daily basis. I used to have this quote from St. Padre Pio in my signature line:
He who prays has hope.
He who prays little is in great danger.
He who does not pray is lost.
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It is definitely a sin to not pray every day. It might be grave matter. I know its in my Examination of Conscience. I also always confess it if I fail in this matter.
 
Holly3278 said:
It is definitely a sin to not pray every day. It might be grave matter. I know its in my Examination of Conscience. I also always confess it if I fail in this matter.
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Yes, I was going to mention that it is in the Examination of Conscience and forgot. Thank you for this.
 
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