The Prayer Check List

We are taught to pray, and to pray often. We have learned the basic prayers, the Are Father, Hail Mary, and The Creed and so on. And all are great prayers and all are very powerful, but all too often we think the only time we need to pray is at Church, bed time and some of us even pray before dinner. Is that all that is required of us?

 

We attend mass, so check that off the check sheet, we say prayer before a meal (as long as we are at home), check it off the list, we say our bed time prayer, check it off the list. Make sure you do what is required, nothing more nothing less. All too often that’s what we all do, at one time or another. Even I fall in to that, do what I need to do to get by.

 

Some people even add in extra prayers, they recite the rosary daily, toss in a few novenas for extra credit and all is good. And they all are great forms of Catholic prayer; they all feed us and make the church stronger.

 

Now please understand that I am not making light of prayer, in-fact I am doing the opposite, what I am trying to do is point out the importance of prayer, and more importantly the power of prayer.

 

We are spiritual people; we are created in the image of God, who is total spirit. So if we are created in His image, then we must be spirit. God is total prayer, all he does and all he is a one loving prayer. If the logic follows forward, if God is spirit, then we are, If God is Love, them we must be. Or at least we have the potential and the obligation to be as God is. To fulfill our obligations and our call to be what God has created us to be.

 

Prayer is one of the most important ways we can connect to God, and in doing so, connect to ourselves. Prayer needs to be the center of our being. It needs to be our source and summit of our being.

 

We need to breath prayer, all that we are all that we do, needs to be a prayer to God, we need to offer up all that we do. Not just the prayer before dinner, but how-about a prayer when preparing dinner, and one when doing the dishes.

 

Prayers do not need to be formal, such as the Our Father, or the rosary all are fine prayers, and should be part of our daily prayer life. But we need to keep in mind that we are called to praise God in all we do. We need to thank God for all we have, and for all we do not have. Because God, as a loving father, has provided for us all we need in our life.

 

So say your daily prayers, and check them off your list, but remember to praise God for all the little things in life, through out the day.

 

Pray as if your life depends on it, because it really does!

 

So maybe its time to update your check list, and add in randon acts of prayer…

 

Paul