Praying essentially means dialogue with God. Dialogue requires that both parties engage in the conversation. It means that prayer consists talking and listening. So often we tend to engage only one aspect of prayer – talking. However, if you refuse to listen back and the conversation becomes one sided, it stops being prayer and just becomes a lecture or monologue. If you are going to pray, you need to listen as well.
TALKING aspect of prayer could be generally expressed with four elements:
- Adoration (glorifying God)
- Repentance (asking for forgiveness)
- Thanksgiving (expressing thanks to God)
- Petition (asking for god’s support)
LISTENING aspect of prayer is built upon meditation and silence. One of the most popular meditation in the Catholic Church is called Lectio Divina.
There are many prayer and reflection resources available for you to access whether on a daily basis or for a specific need. A few links below may help you to start your prayers.
- Sacred Space – daily prayers
- Daily Prayer – daily Gospel Reflection
- Universalis – Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary)
- Pray as you go – daily prayer sessions
- Rosary Center – how to pray the Rosary
- Lectio Divina – from the Catholic Australia
