There is no way to love God or your neighbor (or your family members, or your classmates, or your fellow workers) without communicating with them. If you don't speak to other human beings or wave to them or smile at them, you aren't loving them. In fact, when you don't speak to them or wave to them or smile at them, you're ignoring them. It's that simple. Well, the same thing is true for loving God. If you don't talk to Him or wave at Him or smile at Him, then you aren't loving Him. You're ignoring Him, and you are ignoring the most important thing you can possibly do on this planet. THAT'S WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT!
And what do we call communication with God? "PRAYER!" Yes!!!
Okay. Back to the first question, now that we're clear on the simple importance of prayer. How do you pray? How do you communicate with God and express your love for Him?
The first three things I suppose are self-evident, but let me write them here anyhow.
1. You have to be awake.
2. You have to give your attention to God. You have to shut out most or all of everything else and, at least for a few moments, focus on God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit.
3. Be reverent – in your words, in your tone of voice, and in your attitude. (You are in the presence of God.)
Next, speak to God – out loud or silently. (It depends I suppose on who else is around and what seems right at the time.) Form some thought in your heart or mind and put it in your own words, preferably just a few words. Actually, you can use as many words as you like, but don't presume you have to speak in big words or whole sentences. Your prayer (assuming you're awake and giving your attention to God) could be as simple as "Holy Spirit! Thank you for being with me." Or, "I Love You, Jesus!." Or, "Please help me!" Or, "God, please forgive me." Or, "Thank you, Lord!" Or, "Heavenly Father, my Dad is sick. Please make him healthy again."
All prayer does well to start with a word or two of adoration mixed into the opening phrase. Having a spirit of adoration helps lift us out of any self-absorption and anxiety we may have.
Another way to pray, of course (assuming you're awake and giving your attention to God) is to recite a favorite Catholic prayer you've memorized. The key here is to actually mean the words of the prayer in a personal and sincere way when you say them.!
The more you want to truly fulfill the greatest commandment on the planet, the more you will find yourself saying these little prayers many times each day. In this way, you are actually being more and more often present to God, to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Then guess what happens – God will seem more present to you, and this loving relationship with Him you are working on through prayer will take on more and more meaning and more and more depth and reality. The next thing you know, you'll be talking more with those around you and smiling at them and helping them in their needs. And so it goes!
As you mature in your prayer life, you'll find it appropriate to think more about different styles or types of prayer. Perhaps you'll want to explore some of the ones listed below – click on them and look at some of the activities you can do to practice the different types of prayer and make them more effective for you. But remember, the one purpose in all of this is to more fully love God and love your neighbor. Remember this for life! This is why you're here on Earth!
