Pray More!
We’re supposed to pray more in Lent.
So pray more why dontcha?
Here are some ideas for kickstarting your Lenten Prayer life.
1. Pray the Divine Office – The complete daily Divine Office consists of Morning Prayer, Mid Day Prayer, Evening Prayer, Office of Readings and Night Prayer. But if you’re not a priest you don’t have to pray it all. Just use the main two offices of Morning and Evening prayer. If that’s too much use the great publication Magnificat. You can also pray the Divine Office with online resources. Check out Universalis, and the Laudate app or the iBreviary app.
2. Develop a Divine Dialogue –That just means talk to God. Spend some time to have an informal conversation. This is best while you’re doing something routine. Talk to him when you are taking a walk, driving the car or doing routine housework. Just be sure if you do it while driving you don’t close your eyes….Seriously, just pour out your heart and then take time to tune in and listen to his still small voice in reply.
3. Pray the Rosary for Inner Healing – Everybody carries wounds of one kind or another. My book gives you a new way to pray the rosary which applies the power of the Blessed Mother’s prayers to the personal needs in the depth of your heart. Go here to learn more.
4. Learn About Lectio Divina – Lectio Divina or Holy Reading comes from the Benedictine monastic tradition. It is a way to prayerfully read the words of Sacred Scripture or the writings or lives of the saints. This kind of prayer nourishes the head and the heart at the same time. Learn more about Lectio Divina here.
5. Try Hesychasm – That’s another word for the Jesus Prayer. This is a regular meditative technique from the Eastern Orthodox tradition of spirituality. Basically you repeat a simple prayer like “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner” over and over again and link it to your breathing. It’s amazing how God can be infused into your whole life with the Jesus Prayer. Learn more about this wonderful tradition here.
Next week I’ll try to remember to write a post with five more prayer pointers.
