The Year of Faith is calling us to be more faithful. The three-fold call to know our faith, live our faith, and share our faith is what this year is all about. Here’s one of six suggestions on living our daily call to prayer, from my column at Patheos.
Got prayer? You don’t need a spiritual director to tell you that prayer is important. Prayer is conversation with God. We all need more of that! But, we don’t always make time for it as we should. All I can tell you is that real change and real growth in the spiritual life comes with practice, buoyed by our heart’s desire to come closer to God.
Good habits start with one small step in the right direction. Prayer is no different from the other important disciplines of life. Let me suggest several simple and well-tried practices to increase our prayer time. Don’t attempt them all. Do the one or two that appeal to you. Or maybe, do the one that is the most doable logistically. Then stick with it. Sometimes we’ve got to have small successes first, and be faithful in little things before moving on to bigger ones. Don’t overreach. Just try something.
Start the day differently.
From dieting to exercise to getting things done before children awake, we all know that starting the morning right sets the tone for the day.
- Go “old school”: As you rise, just kneel down alongside your bed as ask God to enter your day, and to keep you mindful of his presence as you go through your day.
- Put a bible next to your bed and read a few verses of the psalms, or from the Sermon on the Mount before you rise.
- Pray Morning Prayer with your coffee using a phone app or a copy of the Magnificat.
- Tape a “morning offering” prayer to your bathroom mirror and pray it as you dress for the day.
There’s more over at Patheos.
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