Praying Feels Like a Chore?

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Lately, praying has been feeling like a chore for some reason. I have been praying first thing after getting dressed (before, I was praying at night, and I always felt too tired.) However, lately, praying has felt like a chore. For some reason, I can’t wait to finish praying. I rush through the prayers, and I feel like I don’t have enough time (yet I have lots of time.) Why is this? :confused:

I have been praying the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, as well as a few other prayers, all in the same order, every day. I don’t feel like I am praying. I feel like I am saying words mindlessly. :confused:
 
I think many of us have peaks and valley’s in our prayer lives. It’s just part of our human condition, and I also believe our Good Lord understands this. As long as we persevere and don’t give up, I think we will be OK.

During your low points, maybe you can try changing up your prayers and how you pray. Try praying all the time, as St. Paul and other saints have told us to do. Take a walk on a nice day and thank God for giving it to you. When you see people you like, thank God for putting them in your life. Say a Hail Mary on the train, while driving, or walking. Sit in the park, and pray. Be creative.

It’s still praying, and it might recharge your batteries…🙂
 
Melodeonist said:
Lately, praying has been feeling like a chore for some reason. I have been praying first thing after getting dressed (before, I was praying at night, and I always felt too tired.) However, lately, praying has felt like a chore. For some reason, I can’t wait to finish praying. I rush through the prayers, and I feel like I don’t have enough time (yet I have lots of time.) Why is this? :confused:

I have been praying the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, as well as a few other prayers, all in the same order, every day. I don’t feel like I am praying. I feel like I am saying words mindlessly. :confused:
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Pray for your RCIA sessions, that you may listen carefully, take in the lessons thoughtfully and that your catechists may be inspired.
Reciting prayers is not the same as praying.
Take some time aside in your day so simply praise God in your heart. If you feel like adding in a thoughtfully prayed Our Father, cool. If you want to conclude with a petition to Our Lady to intercede for you on the journey, 3 Hail Mary’s.
But don’t think that you MUST pray the rosary and Divine Mercy daily in a certain order and that makes you a Catholic.
It’s true many of us do. We do. It’s not something we did out of the womb though. We grew in our prayer practices GRADUALLY. Many here on CAF have very detailed and very full prayers lives. Some offer heartfelt prayers at daily Mass. You’ll get as many answers as there are members.
Pray with purpose. And the purpose is not ever “how may can I get in.”
You are so excited and interested, I don’t want to dissuade you from ANY devotion. Far from it. But examine your heart. Speak from the heart. And God WILL hear you and your will be blessed. Read the Gospels too! A bit a day. Read the daily readings for a start. You can find them on www.usccb.org
Peace.
 
Melodeonist said:
Lately, praying has been feeling like a chore for some reason. I have been praying first thing after getting dressed (before, I was praying at night, and I always felt too tired.) However, lately, praying has felt like a chore. For some reason, I can’t wait to finish praying. I rush through the prayers, and I feel like I don’t have enough time (yet I have lots of time.) Why is this? :confused:

I have been praying the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, as well as a few other prayers, all in the same order, every day. I don’t feel like I am praying. I feel like I am saying words mindlessly. :confused:
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I agree with others have said here. Sometimes you just need to change it up a little, sometimes you need to bring in something new, or go exploring things more… like find something about the faith that fascinates and interests you. OR, it just could mean this is an exercise of putting up with something that is not pleasurable anymore but try to exercise joy in doing it anyway. Always difficult, but it strengthens the faith muscles so to speak. I make it sound like its easy, but of course its not. Sometimes you can really struggle with this for a long time.

I’d say the ‘why’ of it is because its become routine and not ‘real’. Going through the motions. I tend to think its borne of pride, as in 'look what I do for you!" … that’s not pure love, its good, but not pure. Other times its just a limit we’ve reached. There can be many reasons.

Also, wanted to say that this is not about 'technique", but about discovering something new with God… I purposely slow down my prayers (as if to torture myself :p) when I realize I am speeding through- After all, this is God we are speaking to and He sees the heart… just who do I think I’m fooling!? … the way we pray is more important than if we pray or not or what we say. The standard prayers we pray are more for us to remember God and Who He is rather for Him, but it pleases Him all the same. Remember, Jesus says He rather we were cold than lukewarm. The very same person who said that is The One we address in prayer. Just imagine if someone said they loved you and you gave them half effort or ran though a conversation with you… how hurtful that would be. Prayer is a conversation with God- its you and Him time. Praying is an act of love. Practice love in your prayer, and usually if you are doing it right things will turn around. (Sometimes not though… as I hear with the ‘dark night of the soul’… things are a bit different there, so I hear.)

I remember watching a scene in the movie about St. Teresa of Avila (Italian movie from the 80’s I think?) and there is a scene where she is dry in prayer and the priest tells her to sing to the Holy Spirit with her heart when she prays alone. I could be a bit wrong in exactly what happened in that scene of the movie, but forgive me its been many years since I’ve seen it. Anyway, try that, do that! There is a saying that goes when we sing we pray twice!

Best wishes to you… and if you could say a prayer for me too. May God bless you.
 
I have had the same problem from time to time. One thing I try to do is consciously slow down and pause during prayers and really think about the words. Some times these almost become mini prayers in of them selves. For instance:

Our Father <pause, Lord, what does divine fatherhood mean; how may I a better express being a child of God>
Who art is heaven <pause, Lord, strengthen me to come to your in the Kingdom>
Hallowed be thy name <pause, have I been faithful to bless his Holy name>
Thy kingdom come… etc

Another thing to consider is if you are just falling into a routine, then switch out some of the prayers or intermix spontaneous prayers. I have a stack of prayer cards that I will pull out a couple and shuffle old ones back in.

One other thing to keep in mind is to stop for a moment of silence in your prayers; time to open your heart to hear God. Remember that prayer is meant to be a two way conversation. If all we do in prayer is talk then we never give God a chance to respond.

Really the goal is to internalize the prayers. Like you I have gotten into a rut where my mind and my lips may be saying the words, but it is not really prayer so much as recitation. The above suggestions have helped me to refocus on prayer being a vehicle to bring me closer to God.

One final things is that sometimes singing prayers has helped me. It allows me to express the prayers in a way my heart and mind might not through recitation alone. I seem to remember that you are a musician so playing while praying might help you also. I’m not an instrumentalist, so not sure if that would help you, but just throwing out the suggestion.
 
Its happens when “active” prayer is starting to become redundant and you’re merely saying the words and not praying.

Remember that when you pray, you are in the presence of God, who dwells within you.

It could be that you should start looking toward learning contemplative prayer.

This is silent interior prayer, being in the presence of God, who dwells within, and just resting in His presence. In this place we don’t expect anything except to love God because He is God and whatever we receive, comes from Him, not from anything we do.

Just sitting quiet and saying the name of Jesus, is all that is necessary.

A member of this forum, Dorothy, presented this website which I found very good.

Check it out here

PM me if you want more information

Jim
 
I think what you’re experiencing is normal. Blessed Mother Teresa regularly experienced aridity in her prayer life. It sounds like you are still being faithful to your commitment of prayer time with Our Lord, and although you may not have “feelings”, you are pressing on with faith. That is exactly what you should continue doing. Don’t stop praying, but keep pressing on, and you’ll eventually see that God is leading you to a deeper level of union with Him.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Its happens when “active” prayer is starting to become redundant and you’re merely saying the words and not praying.

Remember that when you pray, you are in the presence of God, who dwells within you.

It could be that you should start looking toward learning contemplative prayer.

This is silent interior prayer, being in the presence of God, who dwells within, and just resting in His presence. In this place we don’t expect anything except to love God because He is God and whatever we receive, comes from Him, not from anything we do.

Just sitting quiet and saying the name of Jesus, is all that is necessary.

A member of this forum, Dorothy, presented this website which I found very good.

Check it out here

PM me if you want more information

Jim
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You are right that we should all be advancing into mental prayer, and it seems that too few Catholics even know about this very important aspect of growing in holiness.

I see your site has a talk on centering prayer, which is allied to Eastern methods of prayer in a way which the CDF has warned against. What does Fr Poslusney say about it? I listened to a couple of his other talks and they seemed good but were not about prayer.

**Melodeonist, **Here is a link to the transcript of a good talk on mental prayer, which is what the Church generally calls the class of prayer which includes a Catholic form of contemplative prayer (in which God kind of directs the prayer rather than our doing it).
 
St_Francis said:
I see your site has a talk on centering prayer, which is allied to Eastern methods of prayer in a way which the CDF has warned against. What does Fr Poslusney say about it? I listened to a couple of his other talks and they seemed good but were not about prayer.

.
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Its a banned topic here in CAF.

I would suggest you follow the link in that site and listen to what he has to say.

It has nothing to do with Eastern Methods of prayer.

PM me if you want correct information.

Jim
 
Melodeonist said:
Lately, praying has been feeling like a chore for some reason. I have been praying first thing after getting dressed (before, I was praying at night, and I always felt too tired.) However, lately, praying has felt like a chore. For some reason, I can’t wait to finish praying. I rush through the prayers, and I feel like I don’t have enough time (yet I have lots of time.) Why is this? :confused:

I have been praying the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, as well as a few other prayers, all in the same order, every day. I don’t feel like I am praying. I feel like I am saying words mindlessly. :confused:
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Try mixing your prayers a little as you do you music for some verity. Anything can get “old” after a bit. Try new prayers where you have to pay attention or split your Rosary into decades. There all many ways to make prayer “new” again and less of a chore. Try TLOH for a week or even once a day, then move to some other way of praying such as your music, spiritual reading, U tube videos. Prayer isn’t just a bunch of words or routine. It is the intent to become closer and more intimate with God. I suspect that many sisters, monks and priest, have also felt that prayer was a chore and have opted out. As you are not a monk, put some personal spice into your prayer cakes. It will taste a whole lot better.
 
Lately, praying has been feeling like a chore for some reason. I have been praying first thing after getting dressed (before, I was praying at night, and I always felt too tired.) However, lately, praying has felt like a chore. For some reason, I can’t wait to finish praying. I rush through the prayers, and I feel like I don’t have enough time (yet I have lots of time.) Why is this?
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It’s human nature. We aren’t robots.

If you are asking what you should do, I agree with the idea that you need to make some changes to your prayer routine. There are plenty of options, some of which have already been mentioned. Here are a few more:
  • Try different prayer books. There are plenty of good, traditional Catholic prayer books that can add a different dimension to your prayer routine.
  • Try praying in Latin. Start with learning the Rosary in Latin.
  • Try changing your setting or location.
  • Set a goal to attend Mass daily. Praying with others can help break the monotony.
  • Go on a silent retreat.
 
Let me offer a you a biblical response. St Paul did not pray wrote prayers. He prayed from the heart. He said he prayed in the spirit (in tongues) and also with his mind. Prayer is not just petition it is mainly praise and worship. This is the only way to break through. Yes it is work, but at last when you do break through in prayer it becomes easy and joyfull. You will not be able to do this at first. You must be dedicated to scripture. The most effective prayer is when we pray the promises of God back to Him. Read the Psalms for.inspiration. Many are Davids personal prayers. They are not churchy prayers but are from his heart. Also, it is important that you are fully convinced that God hears and will answer. He will not hear a double minded or doubtfull prayer. Another point is that you must be consistent. Each prayer time is built on the former and when we miss, we lose the ground that was built.

Hope this helps,

Jerry
 
Thanks for all the replies! 🙂

I wonder if I just slow down a bit, and actually think about the prayers, I would not find praying boring.

One problem I have with the rosary is that I don’t know the stories behind the mysteries, and I don’t know what to think of. If I do the rosary with pieces of the scripture before each Hail Mary, I find it takes too long. What exactly are we supposed to reflect on with the mysteries?

I don’t find the Divine Mercy Chaplet boring, but I don’t know if I am focusing on the right things in my mind (I am an extremely visual thinker, and I mostly think in images.) For example, I have been trying to say a daily Divine Mercy Chaplet for my Grandmother’s soul. I have been thinking mostly of her house. Is this what I should be thinking of while praying the DMC?
 
Learn the mysteries of the Rosary. It won’t take long and isn’t hard. Keep in mind that the mysteries are scriptural so you will learn scripture AND the rosary. Go to the Rosary on line and the mysteries are there for you with each decade. Peace.
 
Do you have a Scriptural Rosary you read? In that case, just read silently all the readings at the beginning of the decade, then continue. You will not need to do this for too long before you learn all the stories.

And every few months, switch versions so that you get new aspects on which to meditate.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Its a banned topic here in CAF.

I would suggest you follow the link in that site and listen to what he has to say.

It has nothing to do with Eastern Methods of prayer.

PM me if you want correct information.

Jim
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Well, learn something new every day–thanks 🙂 The link leads to a series of videos and at the top of the page is a brief explanation.
 
eazyduzit said:
Let me offer a you a biblical response. St Paul did not pray wrote prayers. He prayed from the heart. He said he prayed in the spirit (in tongues) and also with his mind.
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I agree of course that praying in tongues is a lifesaver when one does not know how to pray as one ought. But it is a mistake to think that Paul and the other Apostles/Christians did not pray written prayers. All of the Apostles were first faithful Jews, and prayed/sang the Psalms with Jesus, and as part of the Temple and Synagogue liturgies. Some of the oldest Christian prayers are taken from the Hebrew prayers and the Synagogue service.

That being said, as a cradle Catholic I was not taught how to have “conversational” prayer. I was expected to know my memorized prayers and pray by “rote”. This did not appeal to me at all and I found it nothing but vain repetitions. I am forever grateful that my separated brethren taught me how to pray from the heart.
eazyduzit said:
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Prayer is not just petition it is mainly praise and worship. This is the only way to break through. Yes it is work, but at last when you do break through in prayer it becomes easy and joyfull. You will not be able to do this at first. You must be dedicated to scripture. **The most effective prayer is when we pray the promises of God back to Him.**
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It is strange you would say this, right after claiming that Paul did not pray this way. But I agree with you. The best “written” prayers are those in scripture, and the better we learn and pray the Scriptures the more fulfilled will be our prayer life.
eazyduzit said:
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Read the Psalms for.inspiration.  Many are Davids personal prayers. They are not churchy prayers but are from his heart.
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All good advice, Eazy. The Psalms constitute the prayer book used by Jesus and the Apostles, and they have been embedded in the Christian Liturgy of the Hours. 👍
 
Listening to religious music might help. There are many forms of prayer that are valid, heard and answered. Is adherence to a particular form of prayer essential for you? Sometimes action (corresponding to our responsibilities before God and man) is a most appropriate and effective form of prayer.
 
I had trouble focusing on the Mysteries in the Rosary until I found a DVD from EWTN called “The Holy Rosary” that used images of the various mysteries in stained glass.

In the car I use a CD with people reciting the Rosary and music behind the prayers. It really helps to do something different.
 
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