What is Prayer & Why do we Pray

Praying Learning to pray can be difficult at first but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. If you’re at a loss for words whenever you sit down to pray I hope these suggestions help you to get the conversation going. Tell Him About Your Burdens We’ve all had those moments where you know you should have Sometimes it’s a bit more serious than that. Maybe someone you love is sick and you want their healing more than anything or your life seems to be falling apart and you’re not sure how you’re going to keep going on. These are all crucial times to turn to Jesus. I’m sure you’ve prayed like this before, “Jesus, please help me” or “God, get me through this.” Asking for the help of God when we need it is a very important part of our spiritual life. He wants to know what you are burdened by so that He can help you to go through it. If you’re having a hard time sharing your burdens with God here a few suggestions to get started: • Be honest with God. If you’re angry, upset or confused its okay to be angry, upset or confused. When you pray you don’t need to act or talk a certain way for Him to hear you. •Ask Him to help you. It’s great to get all your feeling and frustrations off your chest but don’t leave it there. Jesus either wants to take these burdens away from you or give you the strength to endure them. By inviting God into our problems we cooperate with His grace and strengthen our relationship with Him. •Share what you are going through with a family member or a trusted friend. God often uses the people in our lives to relay truth or direction to us. Find someone who can help you through these difficult times. Thank Him for Your Blessings It is just as important to share with Jesus your blessings as well as your burdens. When I take a minute to reflect on all the good that is in my life it doesn’t take long for me to see that I am incredibly blessed. When we spend time thanking God it becomes very apparent how involved He is in our lives. This is a great practice to pick up if you struggle with feeling that God is distant or doesn’t care about you. Here are a few ways you can begin thanking God for the blessings in your life: •Make a list and keep it by your bed. Before you go to sleep add anything from your day that was a blessing to you. • Stop and pray when you notice something going great in your day. Just take a moment to say, “thank you Jesus for this blessing.” • Be more thankful for the people in your life. After dinner thank your mom or dad for cooking for you or let your best friend know that you’re grateful for their friendship. Prepare for Temptations As we continue to pray and grow in our relationship with God we might began to notice sins and struggles that seem to get in the way of us knowing Him more fully. These sins and temptations are a great thing to bring up in prayer. Jesus wants to be in a closer relationship with you so He is more than willing to help you remove anything that stands in the way of your relationship with Him. Listen, this is not always an easy conversation to have. It’s difficult to admit that we aren’t perfect and that we do a lot of things we regret but turning to God is the first step to overcoming those habits, addictions, and pitfalls. By talking to Jesus about your sins and asking for the grace to overcome them you’ll begin to see how merciful and patient He is. If you’re struggling with sin and want to ask God for help here are a few things to start doing: • Go to Confession. Whoa whoa whoa before you say, “I can’t do that. I haven’t been • in forever and I wouldn’t know what to do” recognise that if you are holding on to sins and regret then you’re not living your best life. God wants you to live free from guilt, shame and regret. Go to confession, leave those sins in the past and get a clean slate. Trust me you’ll feel incredible! If you are afraid of going to confession or you don’t remember what to do here is a great blog to help you out. • Don’t beat yourself up. Nobody’s perfect. I’m sure even Pope Francis has had to go to the chapel some days and pray “Lord help me overcome these sins that I’m struggling with.” Trust me that you’ll only lose the battle to sin when you stop showing up to fight. Certainly our temptations may not go away overnight but if we persevere in prayer we will find that we are steadily moving closer to God and His Will. In summary, If you’re praying you’re winning!