In short. I keep having thoughts that I need to come back to God, I need to pray, and I really want to develop a close relationship with God and my faith. The thing is, I can’t get myself to, I feel lazy to pray, everyday I say like, tomorrow I’ll start reading the Bible, tomorrow I’ll pray, etc etc and it’s taking a toll on me, I don’t know what to do
The devil puts people off and we can also become indolent towards prayer, practical tasks taking priority in our minds as proposed states of urgency. You have to dig deep and force yourself and the best way of doing so is to plan for a designated prayer time. This way, a routine for prayer becomes part of your daily practical routine.
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There was a time when I didn’t pray much. I wanted to but would forget about it. I asked God to remind me to pray, and He did.
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Just start somewhere. Even a simple prayer every day is a good start.
I have over the course of time developed a set of prayers that I pray every morning. Once you begin doing this it will soon become second nature.
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God is longing for you. May I recommend you read/re-read the parable of the Prodigal Son. It begins in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verse 11.
Prayer is how we communicate with God and one intimate way that He communicates with our souls.
Imagine saying that you love your Grandma and Grandpa, but then you never visit them nor call them on the phone. How do you love someone and have a relationship with them if you don’t interact with them?
That’s awesome!
The hardest part is showing up. When I used to call my Grandma (whom I miss dearly), I would just say “Hi Grandma, this is Josh” and she would do most the talking : )
When I Pray, I tend to do most the talking and that is more of a me problem.
I have a few recommendations for you:
- If you struggle making time to Pray or finding the words to Pray, go to Adoration! Just basking in the holy presence of Jesus is enough. Even if you do not say one word, just being there, resting there, is a beautiful things.
- If you have trouble reading the Bible, try listening to the Bible. There are Bible apps like Dwell and Hallow where you can listen to the Bible. Your local Library probably has the Bible on CD’s too, if you are more old school.
- If you don’t feel like Praying or reading Sacred Scripture, I will tell you what an online friend told me about exercising. He lost over a hundred and fifty pounds and now does marathons! He said, "The times when you do not feel like exercising, that is when you have to exercise. Do not think about it. Do not talk yourself out of it. Get up and go do it!
I do a weekly Bible Study with my co-worker through the YouVersion Bible App. It also read the verses to you if you do not feel like reading them yourself, there is a devotional, and then we share our thoughts with one another about what we have just read. She knows that I am Catholic and she is not. I am a head person and she is more of a heart person. And yet, we encourage one another, while, at the same time, sharing our Faith traditions with one another.
I also attend an in-person Catholic Men’s Bible Study / Prayer Group every Thursday Night and again, showing up is the hardest part! Once you are there, you are always glad you went!
Just show up! Do it especially when you least feel like doing it. And God will bless your life and your relationship with Him more than you may know! And call your Grandma! ; )
Sometimes we make simple things complicated, like praying. We want the perfect words and the perfect setting in an imperfect world. Every moment and time is the perfect moment to pray. The Bible asks us to do unceasingly. One of my favorite podcasts on prayer is Father Mike Schmitz’s on praying unceasingly, using the formula developed by St. Francis de Sales: Ask, Offer and Accept. And the beauty of it is you can do it anywhere at anytime. It’s a quick video just a few minutes long:
