Daily Prayer: How Do I Do It?

How do you make prayer work in the pressures of daily life? Dr. Sri responds to this question with lessons learned in his own life as well as some key advice for the practice of daily prayer.

Snippet from the Show
“The soul needs prayer like the body needs oxygen.”
-St. John Paul II

Throughout our lives, we will go through different seasons whether it is the season of being a student, a new parent, or starting a new job. It seems as though our lives are ever changing and therefore, our habits and practices also change and adapt. This includes the habit or practice of daily prayer. Throughout life, this practice will look different. It will change. Dr. Sri offers two keys to help with daily prayer: faithfulness and flexibility.

Flexibility

You will often hear that in order to build a habit of daily prayer, it is essential that you schedule a specific time in a specific place that is the same every day. This is not a bad piece of advice…for some seasons of life. However, in a lot of seasons, flexibility is key. If we can only pray at certain times or in certain places, we may not pray at all. It is important that we are flexible so that we know it's ok if our prayer time takes place as we rock our baby to sleep or as we drive home from work. There can be ideals, of course. However, the most important thing is that we actually do it, that we actually pray.

Faithfulness

In addition to being flexible with our prayer time, it is equally important that we are faithful to prayer. Prayer must take priority each day. Prayer is essential not only to our relationship with God, but also in our relationships with spouses, children, siblings, parents, and friends. It is essential in all that we do to try and live out the will of God. Be faithful to prayer. Be faithful to God.

Questions to Ponder

1. Is prayer a priority in my life right now? Am I faithful to prayer? Why or why not?
   
   
2. What can I do to be more flexible in my prayer life? Are there times or places in my day that are conducive to prayer?
   
   
3. What are some goals I want to set for my prayer life?