Words about prayer

Prayer is one of the ways of communicating with God, perhaps the most important one. That’s why it is essential that we pray regularly. There were periods in my life when I neglected prayer. Sometimes out of laziness or because I was caught up with other things. Other times because words seemed dry and my heart had nothing to say. It always felt like breaking a relationship, like turning my back on God. Then a time came when I felt like starting over. Let me tell you this, it wasn’t easy. I could feel the gap I’d created, it was as real as you and me. The words wouldn’t come without a struggle. It would take a while to reach the spiritual level I had reached before. Lack of exercise or practice in any area leads to lack of performance. So a good relationship with God requires a lot of prayer exercise. It’s so easy to say: “I’ll take a break today.” But then tomorrow it gets worse, and the day after tomorrow worse, and so on and so forth. By the time you want to pray again you might realize you have drifted away further than you thought. So even when you don’t feel like praying, make an effort. It is as important as brushing your teeth in the morning. Your effort won’t pass unrewarded. You might realize that by the end of the prayer, your heart will be burning with faith and devotion again.