4. Realize that not all prayer is verbal
Although we typically associate prayer with spoken or mental words and sentences, this isn’t always the case. Saint Teresa of Avila, the master of the Interior Life said: “Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.”
Another way to incorporate non-verbal prayer is to invite God along on your day. If you need to make a run to the grocery store, or mow the lawn, invite God to join you. By dedicating even the seemingly mundane tasks to the service of God, you tap into the practice of praying continuously like St. Paul suggests in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
5. Realize that God wants to know about the small parts of your day.
If prayer is currently something you only think about as your last resort when life gets hard, remember that God wants to know about every detail of your life, not just the events when we need to lean on him the most.
Christ told Saint Faustina: “My daughter…why do you not tell me about everything that concerns you, even the smallest details? Tell Me about everything, and know that this will give me great joy.”
6. Whatever you do, don’t forget the beauty of silence
Today’s world is constantly buzzing with distraction. Social media updates ping on our phone, people ask for our attention and our to-do lists tug at us. In the midst of all the noise, we must remember that need for finding God in the silence.
Saint Mother Teresa said: “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
