“I don’t know how to pray.”  

I hear those words on occasion.  God desires to connect with us in our innermost being, in what we call “prayer,” but sometimes we just don’t know if our prayer life is where it should be.  And because of that, we wonder if we are “doing it right.”
 
There is not one correct way “to pray.”  But, the Holy Spirit wants us to pray.  For some, it is traditional prayers; for others, it is contemplative prayer; or spiritual reading, or the use of Sacred Scripture followed by reflection.  God invites each of us to discover how HE wants us to pray.
 
At Christmas time 2020, we gave out Matthew Kelly’s book, “I Heard God Laugh.”  In it, he once again stresses the importance of developing a habit of prayer.  That, for many, is the first hurdle:  simply getting into this “habit” or routine of prayer.
 
We encourage you to read the book, and then use the video to the right to follow the 7 steps of Matthew Kelly’s “Prayer Process” every day for 21 days in order to kick-start a habit of daily prayer.  It can be helpful to set aside the same time for this every day, and even the same location – somewhere quiet and free from distractions.  The video lasts for 10 minutes, with a prompt for each step of the Prayer Process followed by a period of silence.  During the silence, it will be the Holy Spirit speaking into the depths of your being and leading you personally. 
 
And if you already have a daily prayer habit, you can still give this process a try as a way of building on and enhancing your communication with God.
 
Not sure this is for you?  Give it a try!  The video will be available online for whenever the Holy Spirit nudges you to try something like this, especially if you have ever said, “I don’t know how to pray.”