Starting a prayer life--help please!

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Elizastaci

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Okay. Although I have been Catholic for all of my life, and I go to Mass on Sundays, and so forth–I’d really like to stop being one of those Sunday-morning people and start living the faith 100% of the time.

Except I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

And I’d like to form a real relationship with God, not just talking to Him at Mass or bothering Him when I want something. I want a real, vivid, prayer life, and to pray every day, but I don’t know how to do that either.

Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
 
Elizastaci said:
Okay. Although I have been Catholic for all of my life, and I go to Mass on Sundays, and so forth–I’d really like to stop being one of those Sunday-morning people and start living the faith 100% of the time.

Except I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

And I’d like to form a real relationship with God, not just talking to Him at Mass or bothering Him when I want something. I want a real, vivid, prayer life, and to pray every day, but I don’t know how to do that either.

Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
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You are never to old to change your spiritual life. 😃 In fact, you will find that your prayer life will indeed change as life goes on…when you get married, when you have children, when you retire (to name a few life-changing events).

Just my 2 cents, but I would find a good prayer book, one with a variety of types of prayers…for family, for the deceased, for specific concerns, etc., etc., you get the point. Or, start reading the New Testament (if you haven’t already).

Then, set some time aside each day. For myself, I start my day with 10 minutes of prayers. Don’t make it a long time, as then it becomes difficult and then you fail and can get discouraged.

I will often pop in a CD of the Rosary or Divine Mercy if I’m driving somewhere during the day - they take about 20-25 minutes. If I don’t complete it, I finish it later.

I also say prayers or try to say the rosary before I fall asleep.

Remember that your actions can be a prayer throughout the day. Offer something up - an inconvenience, a long wait line, awful-tasting coffee; reach out to someone who needs help, smile to someone you don’t like.

And, of course, spontaneous thoughts of prayer are perfect because they mean that we are in contact with God and our thoughts are drawn to Him.

It isn’t easy, but keep trying.

Anyways, waaaaaay more than 2 cents, but I hope that it has been helpful!😃
 
Elizastaci said:
Okay. Although I have been Catholic for all of my life, and I go to Mass on Sundays, and so forth–I’d really like to stop being one of those Sunday-morning people and start living the faith 100% of the time.

Except I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

And I’d like to form a real relationship with God, not just talking to Him at Mass or bothering Him when I want something. I want a real, vivid, prayer life, and to pray every day, but I don’t know how to do that either.

Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
Click to expand...
Hey good for you to want to love God more.
You know how you fall in love with a person, well it’s that easy with God. You can see Him in all nature thank Him for that,
look at people and thank God for them.
Look at the Bible read all Jesus taught and you will see that it is all LOVE. wow! to love the person of God who is pure love what better person to love.
Thank Jesus daily for dieing for your sins, for taking your place on the cross.
Thank Jesus for loving without regard for your sins, that’s how much He loves you.
Walk around looking at the grass and see Jesus in it, see the animals and see God in them, Get up early just before the dawn, listen to the birds when they get up their first song is to God. When the cows get up of the ground they bow their heads in glory to God.
Do you look at your books for study, or your pay packet and think what a good person or lucky person you are? All that came because God gave it to you. He made the trees to make the paper to make the money. He made the stones to make the steel to make the reinforcement to make the buildings for you to work in. He made the dirt, placed it on the ground to allow the seeds to grow so that you could have food to eat.

Here is another If you can take Jesus as your father, Mary as your mother, then your love for every person on earth will be equal. Because you will have taken spiritual parents, thus all people will be your…

of corse…your brothers and sisters, now how much better loving can there be than to love all people equally and have spiritual parents.

Try it is works.
God bless
littleone
 
Before I even get out of bed I say “Good morning, Lord. Thank You for the gift of another day. Please guide me all day long so I live it the way You want me to.” (silently as my husband is still sleeping). A simple thing, but makes such a difference in the way I use my time and my response to things that happen.

My day job is very stressful and sedentary so on weekends Rosary walks in the woods are a great way to combine prayer and exercise. I say the Rosary on the way out and the Divine Mercy Chaplet on the way back. My halfway point is a pretty little pond. I stop there, relax, watch the wildlife. If you do this, bring a small notebook or journal. It’s amazing how often in my “stop and listen” phase by the pond (or as Mom used to say “be still and know I’m God” moments), I’ll get a new idea, insight, or perspective. The whole process usually takes about half an hour (plus pond time) but always leaves me feeling like I’ve been on vacation.

Holy Hours are great as well if you have access to a Perpetual Adoration church or chapel.

The stresses in my life haven’t changed, but the way I deal with them has changed for the better because of prayer time. May it be the same for you.
 
Elizastaci said:
Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.
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Too old at 20? No way! May God bless your new undertaking. Here is a great article that addresses your very question. The author wisely reminds you that your spiritual life is a work in progress, and that you need patience as you get it established.

Betsy
 
You’ve gotten some good suggestions already.

Think about people in your life. Is there someone you feel closest to, who loves and cares for you the most? Father, mother, friend, spouse, grandfather…someone you can really open up to. Imagine someone who cares for you 1000x more than the person closest to you.

Find a quiet place, church or room, and have something to hold…a crucifix. Close your eyes and imagine Our Lord is sitting directly across from you with his hands on your shoulders. Let the words come out, just talk to him, praise, thanks, forgiveness, concerns…lay them right out there. Have faith that He will listen. He is there. Its okay to just sit quietly and meditate on the crucifix, listen… Always visualize Him that way.

I found that I visualize Him that way throughout day and just acknowledge His presence and to show me the way.

works for me.
 
You’re 20? Just a baby! If I, being well into my thirties, can turn my prayer life around as much as I have done in the past year anyone can.

I like the idea of visualising or using a mental image such as a crucifix and praying that way.

I’d also say invest in a book that has good standard Catholic prayers such as the Rosary with some additional extras - saints prayers, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and such. Find a few formal prayers that you like. They can be especially useful when you feel a little ‘dry’ in terms of spontaneous prayer.

Always start the day with a Morning Offering (which makes the whole day and all it contains a prayer - think about that fact often during the day!)

In the evening take five minutes to go over the events of the day - what you’ve done well or poorly or could’ve done better, what you’re thankful for and what you’d like to work on. Say a prayer of Contrition for your sins and thanks for the good things, and make one firm resolution to take a concrete step to work on your most problematic problem the next day.
 
Elizastaci said:
Okay. Although I have been Catholic for all of my life, and I go to Mass on Sundays, and so forth–I’d really like to stop being one of those Sunday-morning people and start living the faith 100% of the time.

Except I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

And I’d like to form a real relationship with God, not just talking to Him at Mass or bothering Him when I want something. I want a real, vivid, prayer life, and to pray every day, but I don’t know how to do that either.

Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
Click to expand...
First you on the right track, just desiring to form a relationship with God and to begin a daily life of prayer is the right step.

Go to a quiet place to pray. Begin by sitting with your eyes closed, and allow yourself to quiet down. Take a couple minutes, which for many people will seem long and many would just give up. But be patient.

After a minute or so, chose a sacred prayer word, which has special meaning for you. It can be one word, or a few. “Lord Jesus”, “Come Lord Jesus,” or “Maranatha.” Begin to say this prayer word, softly and gently. At first, verbally and then let it become mentally until if fills your being. As you say this sacred word, open yourself up to God’s presence. He is within you, so you only need to be present within yourself to be with God. Don’t expect anything, because our expectations are driven from our own agenda’s not from God. Just rest in His presence, loving him. If you find yourself distracted with thoughts or sounds or physicall issues, i.e. a scratch or sitting adjustment, just return to your sacred prayer word and return to the Lord’s presence. Be open to whatever God gives, but don’t attempt to analize anything, just let God do whatever He wills for you.
This moment can be compared to two lovers, sitting on a sofa holding each other in their arms. No words are necessary to convey love to each other. Just being present to each other is enough. So it is with God. Just rest in His embrace.
It will take time to get use to being quiet, but eventually you’ll find that 20-30 minutes will go by and you hardly noticed.
Don’t worry if you don’t feel anything specific, it’s not what the prayer is about.
After a period of time, you’ll feel the time to leave your meditation. Say the Lord’s prayer, softy and gently, as you begin to open your eyes.

At this point, you might want to finish off by reading some Scripture. You can chose a part by random, or prehaps have the gospel reading for the day, marked before you begin your meditation. This way you can open right to it.

The more you pray this way, the more you’ll benefit from it.
In time, you’ll feel the presence of God throughout the day on a daily basis. You’ll come to understand the meaning behind St. Paul’s words, “pray without ceasing.”

If you have any questions, let me know.

In Christ Jesus
Jim
 
I rejoined the Church, and truly began my spiritual life, when I was 28.

I had some trouble getting into prayer. I started out simply. I just tried to say the “Our Father,” “Hail Mary,” and “Glory Be” every morning and/or night. Eventually, I worked up to saying the Rosary, but that took a while.

Quite early on, I happened across this Web site: Sacred Space. It offers daily guided prayers. At first I just would go through them rather briefly, but then, I would start going deeper, taking advantage of the prayer guides and bits of inspiration that accompany each part of the prayer.

After a while, I sort of took off on my own. I find that the prayer life is never static! There is no one “right way” to pray.

Quite recently, I received my own Crucifix, which I keep in a very visible place in my home. Currently, I find that my deepest and most natural prayer consists of just holding the Crucifix close to my heart, and just letting things flow–words, emotions, thoughts, desires, tears. The Crucifix liberates me and makes me feel so close to the Lord!

God bless and be with you! 🙂
 
Elizastaci said:
Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
Click to expand...
I started developing a better prayer life last year at the age of 40. Don’t use age as an excuse!🙂
 
Sacred Space has already been mentioned, so I’ll recommend (yet again! 🙂 ) my other favourite:

www.pray-as-you-go.org

Personally, I really like the fact that you’re listening to a voice - it helps me feel part of a community as I pray.

You might think about going on a retreat aimed at people your age run locally?
 
Another additional suggestion is to read Scriptures everyday. Reading Bible is not easy and we always pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you. Each time we read the Bible of the verses, we might get different messages.
 
For about a year now, I have used this site, gnm.org/index.shtml, to provide me a link to the dialy mass readings and a wonderful reflection on each day’s readings. You can sign up to receive the daily e-mail.

Highly recommend it.
 
elizastci - thank you for making this thread… i to am brand new to the relationship of christ thing and needed this sort of Advice. I’m 22 and gogin throuhg similar things so don’t worry yourself to much about age.
 
Hmm. I’m guessing if you’re a cradle Catholic, you probably own a prayer book. If not, well, …

You can start by every morning standing in fron of your icon corner, or little collection of statues on your dresser, and saying an Our Father, a Hail Mary, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, a short prayer to your GA and patron saint. (You can compose these last two yourself, it’s OK, really. I actually use some prayers I composed myself along with prayers from my prayer book). I usually have my mornign cup of tea or coffee while I’m saying my prayers. I call it “having coffee with Jesus.” (When I was a catecheumen, I once told my catechist that sometimes I felt weird praying because I was talking to someone I couldn’t see, hear, feel, or sit down and have a cup of coffee with. She laughed- but she understood where I was coming from.) Then, grab your rosary, sit or lie down and get comfy, and pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy.

In the evening, do it again, only pray the Rosary.

Carry a rosary with you. When you find you have ten minutes to spare during the day, you can pray the Jesus Prayer, the first half of the Hail Mary, or whatever short prayer strikes your fancy.
 
Elizastaci said:
Okay. Although I have been Catholic for all of my life, and I go to Mass on Sundays, and so forth–I’d really like to stop being one of those Sunday-morning people and start living the faith 100% of the time.

Except I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

And I’d like to form a real relationship with God, not just talking to Him at Mass or bothering Him when I want something. I want a real, vivid, prayer life, and to pray every day, but I don’t know how to do that either.

Please, anything, any piece of advice would help…I don’t even know if I can do this, or if I’m too old to change my spiritual life–I recently turned 20.

Thanks lots, and God Bless.
Click to expand...
Years ago, I had the privilege of meeting a priest involved in the canonization process who presided at a retreat on the subject of prayer.

I asked him how to pray.

He told me that one of the most powerful ways to pray is with your feet and hands. I asked him what that meant. In a nutshell, it means to actually do something for a brother or sister in Christ because you see Christ in them. Since Jesus told us that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Him, it is a very powerful thing to help someone else out of Christian charity.

Later, I came across a man one night, walking down the road towards the highway late at night. I pulled the car over and prayed to God, asking for guidance. I got the sense that as crazy as it seemed, I should offer this man a lift in my car. And so I did.

I wound up taking him to another city nearby where he planned to get breakfast in a kind of soup kitchen. Leaving, though, he dropped his wallet in my car and neither of us noticed. I finally tracked him down about a week later at a Christian cafe where he used to go in that same city to get a bit of food and help. When I spoke to the paster there, he told me the man, who had been stinking drunk the night I met him, had decided to turn over a new leaf and check himself into rehab. I tracked him down to the rehab to visit him. He looked clean and sober. He had committed his life to Christ. And he greeted me like a long-lost friend.

Sometimes, the smallest gesture done in Christian charity can produce great results even though we may not see them at the time.

I hope that helps.
 
ahh…to be 20 yrs old again. You know the life as a Christian is not always an easy one at times but we all know that but you are correct, going to mass on Sundays just isn’t enough is it? I am a nurse and I love the Lord with everything in me and I want to do more than just go to mass. Our priest mentioned this during homily one Sunday and said that Christians should do what we can to help others want to follow in our footsteps, so I guess he means we should be mentors for others. He mentioned doing the sign of the cross before each meal regardless who is around us, say our prayer before we eat, help others when we can, etc. So you are correct, there is so much more than attending mass. We are responsible for showing others how wonderful it is to be catholic and learn as much as you can and share by doing for others and possibly teaching others what a wonderful life we have through Christ. I am looking for the same thing so you are not alone!
I try harder everyday but I know I can do better.

Walker
 
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