Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

9. Listen to him

Prayer is a conversation. That means you can’t do all of the talking! Some people give up on prayer because they don’t hear a booming voice from heaven the first time they give it a try. God can speak to people like that, but he tends not to, because he doesn’t need to. God has already said what we need to hear in the words of Scripture. He also uses his Church to speak to us today. Only when we are familiar with the sound of his voice from these two sources will we be able to distinguish his voice from our own in our times of quiet prayer. Lectio divina is a special way of praying by reading the Scriptures (or another holy text like the writings of a saint). It’s a great way to get started in listening to God’s voice. You can find help in doing this in the next section, ‘How to Read Scripture’.

Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

8. Pray throughout the day

You can give more of your daily routine to God by praying during the day. Saying grace before and after every meal reminds us of God’s many gifts to us. Saying a prayer when we meet someone in need might help them more than we know. We should get into a habit of saying a prayer when we see an ambulance (for the person in need), when we hear someone has died, and when we want to thank God for good news too! The time we spend travelling—especially when we’re walking or sitting on a bus or train—can be used to talk over the day so far and the day still to come in God’s company. You can ‘live’ your prayers by taking a word or idea from a prayer and finding opportunities to apply it throughout the day.

Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

7. Pray as you can

Everyone is different, and so is the best way for them to pray. Find ways of prayer that suit you. Some people prefer to speak to God in their own words, others like to use prayers written down by other people. There are different kinds of silent prayer: St Francis de Sales and St Ignatius Loyola are both examples of good teachers. You might say the Rosary every day, or recite the psalms in the Divine Office. There are short ‘arrow’ prayers (like just saying ‘Jesus’) that you can use to ‘shoot’ up to heaven. Sometimes it is good just to be still and quiet in God’s presence, and enjoy his company. Try different ways of praying, then stick to what works. Pray as you can, don’t try to pray as you can’t.

Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

6. Pray with your soul and your body

If you were asked to picture someone praying, you’d probably imagine a person kneeling down with hands joined and eyes closed. There’s no rule that says we have to pray kneeling down, but having particular prayer postures (whatever they may be) as part of our prayer routine will help us to focus. Human beings are bodies and souls, so prayer is going to involve our bodies too. And sometimes when we can’t find the words to pray, we might find that we can express our prayer better with our bodies than with our minds. That said, prayer is above all about raising our hearts and minds to God. That means sharing with him honestly all our thoughts, feelings, memories and desires.

Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

5. Keep things the same

Forming good prayer habits isn’t just about praying at the same time every day, but it’s also about forming a routine. Find a way of praying that works for you and stick to it. A routine doesn’t make things boring—it means we can skip the boring task of getting started and can give our attention to what really matters. A routine of prayer means we don’t have to think about prayer itself all the time, and can focus on God instead.

Our weekly reflections are paused for the summer, so in their place there will be a short extract from how to pray in ten easy steps. This guide is taken from The Oratory Prayer Book, a new prayer book of old prayers that we are publishing and will be available in the coming months.

4. Prepare a place

It’s easy to get distracted from prayer, so a great help in forming good prayer habits is to have a place for prayer where you can focus on God. You don’t need to build a chapel: it might be a particular part of your bedroom where you always pray. A crucifix or some other holy image can also help to focus on God. Don’t be put off by distractions. If there’s something you can’t help thinking about, turn it into a prayer by bringing it before God. He’ll know what to do with it.