You'd think these would be the easiest times to pray. But it is a common experience that even though these are times when we most want to pray, it's usually most difficult. Don't let it worry you. Go to the basics. For example, simply pray the Our Father slowly over and over. (There's a lesson here. Don't say, "I'll pray when I really need it." Pray when you're not in crisis.)
Don't let prayers get between you and God.
The object of praying is not just saying prayers. It is being with God. The different forms of prayer are simply means to open ourselves up to God's presence. Too often we confuse "praying" with "saying prayers."
The more we pray, the more we want to pray. The less we pray, the less we want to pray.
Here is where prayer is different from many other things in life. Like food. Eating the same thing day after day dulls our taste for it. Prayer is just the opposite. Repeated prayer whets our appetite. With prayer, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. It makes the heart grow inattentive.
"O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer, When I call, answer me."
- Prayer of Thomas Merton
- Little Black Book, Diocese of Saginaw