*Prayer* Challenge

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paulah

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I need help…

Ive been slacking in my daily prayers - and my home AND personal life are suffereing. I cant seem to get the self-control to start saying my daily prayers.
Whats really embarassing is that my close friends and relatives think Im this big prayer warrior - and that I pray often. 😦 what a hypocrite I am!
I need help re-dedicating myself to daily prayer.
Please help!

The rules:
  1. we must say some sort of Divine Office (Im gonna say my rosary) for one week… checking in on this thread daily.
  2. we must pray for the others that join this thread that are struggling to (re)establish daily prayers.
Anyone interested?
 
I’m interested, 🙂 but what do you mean by “some sort of Divine Office”?
 
I’ll take you up on that challenge. I’ve been reading my bible daily, but I have a hard time just setting aside that quiet time to pray for a little while. (That’s an excuse, I guess. I could find the time, it’s getting into the habit that’s difficult.)

I’ll say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I love that one and always feel a great sense of peace after saying it.

I’m bad about remembering to pray when I WANT something from God, but forgetting about it when things are going along smoothly. It’s been something I’ve wanted to work on so I’m glad you brought it up. We need to pray every day just to PRAISE him and not just to give him our list of personal needs!
 
3boyzmom said:
I’ll take you up on that challenge. I’ve been reading my bible daily, but I have a hard time just setting aside that quiet time to pray for a little while. (That’s an excuse, I guess. I could find the time, it’s getting into the habit that’s difficult.)

I’ll say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I love that one and always feel a great sense of peace after saying it.

I’m bad about remembering to pray when I WANT something from God, but forgetting about it when things are going along smoothly. It’s been something I’ve wanted to work on so I’m glad you brought it up. We need to pray every day just to PRAISE him and not just to give him our list of personal needs!
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This is where morning and evening prayer - and the rest of the Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office or Little Office of course - are so good. They have lots of psalms and hymns just praising God. Some of them don’t of course 😦
 
JezuUfamTobie said:
I’m interested, 🙂 but what do you mean by “some sort of Divine Office”?
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I was just thinking about the “Divine Office” prayers…

what about devoting 15 minutes to prayer (any prayer) - as undisturbed as it can be 😉
Whatever your devotions/daily prayers should be - thats what the 15 minutes will contain!

What about this??
I’m bad about remembering to pray when I WANT something from God, but forgetting about it when things are going along smoothly.
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I hear ya! Thats why I NEED this challenge - and all of you to help me get IT right. Accountability works wonders. 😛

Thanks y’all for joining. I was afraid I was the only member of this board that was struggling with something so simple as daily prayers.

-from my heart - I thank you!
And if you want to add something extra to the ‘rules’ - please do so!

ok - time for my rosary.

Day 1
 
You’re definitely not the only one, Paulah! Thanks for starting this thread up. I needed the accountability, too.

Offered my rosary for you ladies!

Day 1
 
Just checking in, prayed my rosary today. How is everybody?

Day 2
 
Hey Jezu,

We prayed a family rosary last night - woo hoo! And we will do it again in about 10 minutes!!!

Thanks for checking it!

day 2
 
:eek: Uh oh y’all, I didn’t start last night, I started this morning! But I did start, said my Chaplet and then just some personal prayer. So today was Day 1 for me.

Leave it to me to march to a different drummer, or throw the schedule off, etc!!! Anyway, I’m still with ya!
 
3boyzmom said:
:eek: Uh oh y’all, I didn’t start last night, I started this morning! But I did start, said my Chaplet and then just some personal prayer. So today was Day 1 for me.

Leave it to me to march to a different drummer, or throw the schedule off, etc!!! Anyway, I’m still with ya!
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Hopefully we’ll continue forever and forget what day we’re on anyhow. 😉
 
I couldn’t sleep last night, so I got through a whole rosary before I fell back to sleep.
 
You guys have put a smile on my face = THANK YOU for doing this with me.
Hopefully we’ll continue forever and forget what day we’re on anyhow
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I totally agree! 3boy(name removed by moderator), heck - the MAIN thing is that you started!!! Dont worry about when. 🙂

mommyof4,
Im thinking about there was a reason you couldnt fall asleep! …and you were able to say a whole rosary? very good!

2 days and Ive succeeded in saying my rosary.
oh, Happy day!
 
Good stuff all … today has been pretty non-busy for me, so I did Morning and Evening Prayer (and I have every intention of doing Night Prayer too), a Rosary and a Divine Mercy Chaplet 👍

Yay us! :clapping:
 
paulah said:
I need help…

Ive been slacking in my daily prayers - and my home AND personal life are suffereing. I cant seem to get the self-control to start saying my daily prayers.

?
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man I hear you.
when prayer don’t go right, nuthin’ goes right
I have a minimal commitment to LOTH at least once a day, as an oblate, and a rosary while I walk (also a commitment for my health I have trouble keeping–rain last night, golf course flooded, no place to walk).

When I get in these doldrums, I drop back and punt. Let back on the commitment and work on consistency not quantity. Resolve on one prayer in the morning and one in the evening, plus grace before meals, and stick with it. Morning offering and Our Father in am, Act of contrition and Hail Mary at night. But I actually set the alarm to remind me, and I have a beeper thing from Outlook DH set up to remind me to GET OFF the forums, pray and go to bed.

after a couple of weeks of this it is easier to get back in the groove. the worst time seems to be summer and travelling, then I rely on Magnificat rather than complete LOTH.

when DD was having a hard time finding prayer time I sent her Word Among Us. She keeps it in the bathroom, the one place where she can have a few undisturbed minutes. she finally started family rosary at my urging, but about one decade is all they can manage, which is fine, and seems to provide a bridge between evening/homework and bedtime, and has the side effect of making bedtime easier and smoother (always chaotic at their house).
 
Two rosaries today so far, and it’s ony 10:50 am! I have been particularly stressed out lately, and rosaries are the only thing that help relieve it. It’s kind of like the poor man’s prozac. (That, and chocolate!)🙂
 
I’m troubled that the Church tells the laity to pray the Divine Office, but really we have no means to learn to do it. I have a Christian prayer book and the life of me I can’t figure it out.

That said I also lax on my prayers, I get Mass often enough, and I read the Bible, but praying always makes me feel odd, I never recieve anything back, so I feel like I’m talking to myself.

I guess I should start saying the rosary though, that’s an easy enough way to get it going again.
 
I’m troubled that the Church tells the laity to pray the Divine Office, but really we have no means to learn to do it. I have a Christian prayer book and the life of me I can’t figure it out
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Hey St M. - me neither!!! Ive been shown twice HOW to pray the D.O. - but I always forget, and get distracted with the page flipping back and forth. Many MANY people use this as a VERY effective form of praying… I just havent been able to!
Like you, saying the rosay daily has always blessed me.

mom/4 - you GO girl!!! 2 rosaries BEFORE noon?? :eek: …👍 somebody’s having a peaceful day 🙂
 
Day 2, for me- I did say my Chaplet again (well, sang it this time- I have it on CD). Takes about 20 minutes to sing; or about 5 minutes to say. I really love it and feel so peaceful afterward.

I’m a morning pray-er. Of course prayer’s perfect anytime, but I like that 25 minutes of quiet driving time going to work. I used to pray all the time during that time, and it really does make the morning start off on a good note. I got out of the habit because I was listening to Christian Radio (I personally love the contemporary Christian music. I saw on a thread where most seem to like the older more traditional music more- of course I love that but I really like contemporary for an uplift!)

Of course singing praise and worship songs IS praying, really, if you ask me- music can be a form of prayer. But actual conscious prayer is wonderful too and you do feel more of the sense that you have prayed.👍
 
Saint_Michael said:
I’m troubled that the Church tells the laity to pray the Divine Office, but really we have no means to learn to do it. I have a Christian prayer book and the life of me I can’t figure it out.

That said I also lax on my prayers, I get Mass often enough, and I read the Bible, but praying always makes me feel odd, I never recieve anything back, so I feel like I’m talking to myself.

I guess I should start saying the rosary though, that’s an easy enough way to get it going again.
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There’s a Divine Office thread on here (probably in the spirituality forum)

Use it as a guide for where you’re supposed to be in your CP book and after a little while you’ll get the hang of it. It’s worth making the effort to learn.
 
Saint_Michael said:
I’m troubled that the Church tells the laity to pray the Divine Office, but really we have no means to learn to do it. I have a Christian prayer book and the life of me I can’t figure it out.

That said I also lax on my prayers, I get Mass often enough, and I read the Bible, but praying always makes me feel odd, I never recieve anything back, so I feel like I’m talking to myself.

I guess I should start saying the rosary though, that’s an easy enough way to get it going again.
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You’re not alone your feelings regarding prayer. I’ve definitely been there, too. Come on in and get started! 👋
I moved my daily rosary back to the morning today, for the first time in a long while. It made a huge difference. Pray for me, that I can keep up a good thing.

Bless you, Paulah! I’m loving this thread. Maybe after this we could start little prayer accountability groups for those who need it. (like me)

Day 3
 
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