How I Got My Prayer Life in Order

This is a busy time that we live in. Let me just give you a glimpse into my busy life. Everyday I wake up at 5:00 AM to do what we call PT in the Army. After that I have to rush home to take my wife to class and then to shower, get dressed and get ready for work. That puts us at around 8:00 AM. At this point I make sure that our four children are dressed and ready to go and get on the bus for school. After that I go in to work by 8:45 AM. I am home by 5:00 PM, but then depending on the day it's either Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, PSR, Knights of Columbus. Pretty much it's a busy week.

Many of us use that excuse as to why we don't do one of the most important activities that we not only get to do, but need to do - PRAY!!! It was hard for me to actually schedule time to have some conversation with God, but I found the best way to do it. I started praying The Liturgy of the Hours. Many of you are wondering what I am talking about, so let me just give you a brief explanation. The Liturgy of the Hours, or The Daily Office, as it is also known, is the Church's daily prayer. Each day has prescribed Psalms, Bible readings, prayers, and intercessions. These prayers are also given assigned "hours", Morning, midmorning, midday, afternoon, evening, and night. The only required hours are morning, evening, and night. There is also the Office of Readings that can be said at anytime during the day, or not at all.

I find that this type of prayer not only helps me to make sure that I talk regularly to God, but it also helps me keep my day on track and to help me stay spiritually healthy. I pray at 7:00 AM, 6:00 PM and at bedtime. I also do an examination of conscience during my night prayer, as well as adding any personal intentions that I may have. Now don't think that the Blessed Mother is left out. This is the best part is that you end night prayer by speaking to the Blessed Mother. What better way to end the day than by speaking to your mother.

There are several aids out there to help you pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Personally, I use the four-volume set of books. Volume 1 is Advent and Christmas, volume 2 is Lent and Easter, volume 3 is Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17, and volume 4 is Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34. Now this set is not cheap, but there are also apps out there that can help you as well. The app that I recommend is iBreviary. This app is available on iOS and Android and is a full feature app. You can also use this app to follow along with the Mass and has many other prayers and rites of the church. The prayers are also available on their website at http://www.ibreviary.org.

It took me some time to get into the habit of this type of prayer, but now my day does not feel complete unless I have done it. If you want to start slowly, just do one of the hours, then as you become more comfortable, add more of the hours. This a beautiful way to pray and what better way to pray than by using the Psalms. So, now you have a way of incorporating prayer into your daily life.