Prayer

Prayer begins in a restless heart. Listen to its stirring.

Prayer is a yearning for one’s true home. Follow its lead.

Prayer is like a garden. Tend it and it will be fruitful.

Don’t worry about works or formulas. Prayer is a listening.

Prayer has many methods. Do it your own way.

Pray always, but schedule special times too. The spirit, like the body, needs formal exercise.

Let your prayer be short. Love needs few words.

Pray where you are. God is everywhere.

If you want something, ask yourself, “Do I want what God wants?” God wants your true goods.

If you begin to feel advanced in the way of prayer, think again.

If you need something, pray it. God desires your goods.

Remember: your work and struggles are not unholy. Pray and God will come to you just as you are.

When you’re praying becomes dry and routine, keep at it. Parched earth welcomes the rain.

Pray when you’re worried. Prayer puts everything in perspective.

When life is cruel and unjust, keep praying. God is the victim, not the cause.

Touch the joys and troubles of your friends and neighbors. Shared life is a shared prayer.

When you are overawed before Mystery, just be. God’s spirit is praying within you.

When God seems far away, keep praying. Light can be blinding.

Pray in your resting. Sleep is the prayer of a creature secure in God’s love.

Pray in your rising. Each dawn draws you closer to the light.

Use noisy times for prayer. Sound is the clamor of creation seeking God.

If prayer makes you passive and indifferent, it isn’t a prayer. True prayer will bear fruit in care and service.

God’s life runs deeper that your feelings or experiences.

When sickness, age, pain, or worry steals your concentration, relax. God is an understanding friend.

When you receive bad news, take heart. Praying uncovers the spark in the cinders.

If you don’t like somebody, pray for them. Prayer reveals the hidden God.

When prayer invites you to take risks, have courage. God will uphold you.

If, for any reason, you cannot pray, relax. The desire to pray is already a prayer.

Use quiet tomes for prayer. Silence draws you to the Infinite.

When you sin and continue to fail, pray anyway. God keeps on loving you.

Bring your anger to prayer. Hot metal can be molded.

When your heart is bursting with thanks, just be. God’s spirit is praying within you.

Pray when you feel lonely. Prayer puts you in company of angels.

To pray is to breathe. Do it deeply and you will be filled with life.

When you feel sad or sorry, weep. Tears are a prayer of the heart.