Each day I give thanks to God for everything that my family and I have. I do this through prayer. This was my retreat (time set aside for myself to take a break from everything that is going on in the world) today. I try to make my prayer time a retreat every day of my life. Some people find prayer challenging to do. Others find prayer very simple to do. I find prayer with God easy to do because I look at prayer as dialogue with God. I have been dialoguing with God my entire life. Because of this, I have developed a personal relationship with Him over time. By talking to God every day during my lifetime, I feel very comfortable conversing with Him. I feel that I can go to God and talk to Him about anything. I feel this way because I know that God gave me life. God placed me on Earth for many special reasons. God’s love is unconditional – no matter what I do, God will forgive me. God always listens to me. God answers my prayers, even though I may not get an answer right away or it may not be the answer I am looking for. Knowing and understanding all of this makes it easier for me to talk to God. My talking to God is prayer. Sometimes just sitting and not talking at all, just listening to what God is trying to say to me is prayer. There are so many different forms of prayer. Some prayers I say every day are included in the list below. These may help you with your prayer life each day. I hope you enjoy each of these as much as I do.
- “Dear Lord, thank you for Barb, Christina, Sarah, Mary, Thomas, and all of my brothers, sisters, friends, and relatives. Please bless us, protect us, and keep us in good health all the days of our lives.”
- “Dear Lord, thank you for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the house we live in, the schools our children attend, the vehicles we drive, our health, our investments, our careers, and the supplies to take care of everyday things. Please make me an instrument of your peace that I may reach out and help others in need … those who need food, clothing, shelter, water, money, or supplies.”
- “Lord, I am so thankful, grateful and appreciative of everything that we have.”
- “Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.” (Catholic.org)
- “Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Amen.” (Catholic.org)
- “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” (Catholic.org)
- “Dear Lord, thank you for dying on the cross for love of me. It was my sins that caused you to die, and I will try not to sin anymore.”
- “Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen. Lord, please use this food to nourish me mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Please work through me so that I may reach out and help others who need food, clothes, money, water, and a place to live.”
I do my best to say prayers number one through seven each day in the early morning and the eighth prayer before each snack or meal. One book that has helped me with my prayer life is “The Essential Catholic Prayer Book – a Collection of Private and Community Prayers.” I have learned so much about prayer from this book. Whether you are Catholic or a follower of any other Christian denomination, I highly recommend this publication. Pope Francis is a great source for what prayer is all about. One of his quotes about prayer is “The key that opens the door to the faith is prayer.” Maybe what one needs to do is instead of figuring out how to fit prayer into one’s daily life, try to figure out how to fit one’s daily schedule into one’s prayer life. That may change things a little bit for some people. All in all, prayer time with God is a great way for me to go on a retreat on any given day!