Pray.

We all know “those” people…the ones who are always talking about their Faith in God and seem to know exactly what God’s purpose is for their life. They are at peace, even though they may be in difficult situations, they don’t get sucked down that rabbit hole of negativity and obsessive thinking.  Why are “those” people different from us?

They are different for one reason only. They. Pray. Often.

Having a abundant prayer life changes things. It changes our perspective, it changes our situations and it changes our outcomes. When we have an active and abundant prayer life, we start seeing “those” people as our people…our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Here are 5  ways to enrich your prayer life …

• Say a prayer of offering, gratitude, and surrender each morning before you get out of bed. Before you even open your eyes, before your feet hit the floor say a prayer. Say Good Morning Lord! Your prayer could sound something like this…”Lord I love You and I need You. I am all Yours. Help me to surrender my life to Your will in all that I do, think, and say. Thank You for dying for me. Amen” This is a short and simple prayer that allows you to align yourself with Jesus. If this is the first thing you do to start your day, you are setting yourself up for good things.
• Incorporate everyday activities into your prayer time. Some people have long commutes to work, this is an opportunity to spend with The Lord! House cleaning is a big one for me and I can offer up that time to really focus on why I’m serving my family and how to do it with more love and commitment. Sometimes this leads me to pray about how I can better serve my church and the world, and other times I’m just trying to clean the house with a loving heart.  I also take a walk everyday, my dogs keep me on track here. During my daily walk I am really reflecting on the positive things going on in my life as well as thanking God for the abundant blessings.
• Hang out with “those” people. Pray for people to come into your life that are on the same track as you, maybe even a little further along on the journey. These friendships and relationships are the people in your life who reflect God’s love and mercy, they are a  living witness of Christ. Jesus needed help to carry His Cross, who are we to think we won’t need help carrying ours?
• Find a Church! I am blessed to attend a Church that challenges me, supports me, and loves me. It’s filled with sinners, people who are trying to live a life directed towards God in Heaven. It may take attending a few different Churches to figure out where God is leading you, I know that it did for my family, but don’t give up. The Church is the Body of Christ so I highly encourage you to become a member of a Church. Knock and you will find. Don’t give up!
• End the day with prayer. For me this is a time to reflect and repent. Where could I have been more charitable? Did I put God first today? Did I have unkind thoughts towards someone? Did I withhold forgiveness? The Holy Spirit really helps me to understand where I missed the mark and how my thoughts, words, and action affected others and offended The Lord. I then tell God that I’m sorry and ask His forgiveness. Since I am Catholic, I may have the need for confession and would take that opportunity as soon as possible.

Are these 5 things incorporated into your prayer life?  Do any of these actions seem hard for you?  If so, how can I support you?

Know that I am here to support you and I pray for you! The only purpose I have for writing this blog and making the art that I make is so that others would come to know the love of Christ.

In my next blog post, we will continue on with how to honor the reflection of your journey and do away with negativity. I will write a bit about how to identify where our thoughts are focused and how to get out of patterns of negative feelings.

We are in this together!