What Is Prayer?
“True prayer is nothing but love.”
~Saint Augustine
Prayer is how we develop a relationship and remain connected to the Living and One, True God while deepening our spiritual relationship with Him.
We raise our hearts and minds to thank, praise and adore God in prayer. We repent when we have missed the mark or have fallen away from God's will for our lives, and ask for His pardon and forgiveness.
In prayer, we invite God in and ask Him for His guidance and assistance in our daily lives. We ask Him to heal others as well as ourselves. God desires this communication with us and has the power to answer our prayers.
"Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy - then we need an hour." ~Saint Francis De Sales
Anyone can pray. But it takes commitment and determination that a portion of our day will be dedicated solely to time in prayer with God and our furthering of our relationship with Him. Saint Francis De Sales said, "Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy - then we need an hour."
Prayer is not merely an exchange of words with God, but rather, prayer invites us to open our entire selves - mind, body, and spirit - into a relationship with God the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit so that when we pray, we begin: In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and ask for the Trinity to be present with us in our prayer.
Jesus' disciples specifically asked Jesus, "how do we pray? Please teach us to pray."
From Luke 11:1-4:
"One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'"
Jesus said: "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
[Note: Jesus did not say if you pray. He said when you pray.]
