Not enough prayer

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Jamess12

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Hello,

I have a quick question. Lately I feel like I havent been saying enough prayers and I cant seem to think of what to say.

Any advice or have prayers I could say?
 
Maybe you should start with telling us what you’re doing now

You might feel you’re not saying enough prayers and then it turns out you’re already saying a hundred Hail Mary’s a day. Then we may rightfully say you should actually cut back. Or maybe you’re “saying” too much and not listening enough.

So what is your current prayer routine?
 
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Try praying the Liturgy of the Hours if you’re in the praying mood (probably in the thanksgiving mood, I imagine). There’s plenty of content and an Office of Readings, which is preceded by prayer also.
 
Rather than how much you’re praying, how are you praying? Have you considered quality vs quantity?
 
Three things.
  1. Go to adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. As it was with Mary at Bethany, sitting at the feet of Jesus is the better part of any human activity.
  2. Consider a “holding cross” - they are small wooden crosses with off-set cross-beams so as to be comfortable in the hand, and simply holding them with the proper disposition, is prayer itself.
  3. Invoke the Holy Spirit, by offering the prayer to the Holy Spirit.
  4. OK, four things. Make the above into a habit.
 
Currently I say the 3 hail mary devotion, a hail mary and an our father for special intentions, talk to jesus and ask jesus for help and say that twice a day and thank jesus throughout the day when I can remember.
 
I feel my prayers could be better as well… sometimes i feel like Im just saying the same thing every day
 
What are you doing now? I like to say the Creed, the Confiteor, “Jesus I trust in you” and I go to adoration. It is also great to say"Come Holy Spirit, you are welcome here". It is important to pray to Our Lady and talk to Jesus and thank him. But it’s quality vs. quantity.
 
The most important is to have a spirit of prayer throughout the day, to strive to remain united with God without trying at every moment to have an express conscious awareness of his presence.
 
Prayer isn’t just about reciting a bunch of prayers or even talking to God in your own words. Even more important is listening. You need to focus on God and just be with him and be quiet sometimes. You don’t always need to be talking!
 
Jamess12 said:
I feel my prayers could be better as well… sometimes i feel like Im just saying the same thing every day
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Well, we do say the same words - the point is to mean them. Try this: Slow down, way down. Offer the prayer one word or phrase at a time, contemplating its meaning, then move on.

We have this tendency to hurry things. You know those high-speed disclosures at the end of car lease or drug commercials? God must hear our prayers like that!

As difficult as it is to do, we must simply slow down and alot some time for prayer, as it is conversation with God. I ponder the scripture:
“Be still, and know that I am God”
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Consider praying the Rosary, Jamess12.
Check online for information about the meanings of each of the mysteries of the Rosary, and take time to think about each mystery as you recite the decade for that mystery.

This site is an excellent place on which to get information about the meanings of the mysteries.
 
I find it hard to say the rosary and think about the mystery at the same time…

Have any advice?
 
Prayer is communication with God, and there are four general types of prayer-- Petition (please give me something), Adoration (you’re awesome), Contrition (I’m sorry), and Thanksgiving (thank you!).

You might look and see if you’re covering all four types. If your prayers are skewed lopsided towards petition, for example, spend a little more time noticing God’s work around you, and spontaneously indulging in Thanksgiving and Adoration. You don’t want to spend too much time dwelling on your own shortcomings, because you ought to be looking outwards, at God— but when we do fail, take a moment to acknowledge it and apologize for it, and consciously strive to emulate Christ’s example.
 
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Hello,
All prayer, which is talking, should be directed to God. Even if it is through a saint. The main thing is to want to spend time talking. Make up your own words,
Half of your prayer time should be getting quiet and listening. If after several minutes you hear nothing, read a few lines from the Bible and get quiet again. Rome wasn’t built in a day so it may take many tries before it starts to yield fruit.
 
Along with practice, try to read scripture associated with the Mystery. For instance, say the Mystery name, an Our Father, read scripture related to it, and then the Hail Mary’s, Glory Be, and Fatima Prayer. Even try just 1 Mystery to start. It’s all about getting quality prayer in!
 
I’ve been told by a very wise old priest to go for a 15-20 minute long walk and meditate on the mysteries when praying the Rosary instead of getting stressed with the level of noise that happens when people pray aloud in different languages and there are always some one sentence ahead and others once sentence behind.

I start with Thomas´ creed, Our Father and then meditate on the mysteries and finish with a Glory Be. It could be one or five depending upon what speaks to me during prayer. The Hail Mary´s are there to mark time for meditating on a mystery and I leave them out. (Being able to bring a clock is a fairly recent invention in history.) The most important is to meditate on the mysteries.
 
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