How to Pray the Right Way

At Baclayon Museum, Bohol last year

I bought this booklet titled How to Pray and Why We Need to Pray at St. Paul, SM Manila. This booklet was penned by Sr. Mary Niere, OCD.

This is how we pray:

1. Sit in a chair, or in lotus position, with your back straight. If you are sitting in the chair, your feet on the floor, and place your hands on your lap.

2. Close your eyes gently so that you will not be distracted of what you see.

3. Then make acts of faith, hope and love in God’s presence within you. Like: “My God, I believe that you are present in my heart now. I love you. I trust and hope that you will let me experience your love personally because I want to know you better and do your will every moment of my life.”

4. “My God, I open wide my heart to welcome all those whom I love, whether they are far or near, and love them with your own love. Obtain for us the grace of your healing love.  (Now think of your loved ones. Do not pray in words for them, simply love them in silence.

5. Listen to the sounds around you.  Just listen, without connecting any idea with the sound. Example: You listen to some voices, and you say in your mind, that’s my friend talking. Avoid doing this. Just listen to every sound around you.

6. Be aware of your breathing, as you breathe in and breathe out.

7. Together with the rhythm of your breathing, as you breathe in and as you breathe out, pray in silence of your mind the powerful name of Jesus, or any short prayer, like My god, have Mercy, etc. as long as it us a short prayer. “Jesus, as you breathe in and “Jesus” as you breathe out.

8. If you find yourself thinking of other things, do not worry, this is normal. As long as you are praying Jesus silently in your mind, as you breathe in and as you breathe out, you are deep in prayer, even if your thoughts are wandering around, this is because your thoughts are in the upper level, a s long as you are aware of God’s loving presence in you.

9. However, if you find yourself really thinking of other things, do not worry, that is normal. Just go back gently to pray silently in your mind your prayer word, together with your breathing, in God’s loving presence.

10. Persevere to pray this way at first 5 minutes, then 10 minutes then 20 minutes, 25 minutes then 30 minutes.

11. If you can pray this twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, it will be good. It has to be regular.

12. After a while you will experience a deep silence. Then stop praying your prayer word in your mind, simply remain silent before him. This is contemplative prayer. All the breathing in and out and the prayer word were only means to bring you to this silence. You might be asking, where is the prayer, since you were not saying anything? You are silent because Jesus is the one now praying in you, that is why you need to be silent, because it is Jesus’s prayer in you.  This prayer is very powerful before the Father in heaven.