Transcript

How do I establish a daily prayer routine? Where do I even start?

Personally, I think the two most important times to pray are one: first thing in the morning. When you wake up, thank God for the day. You have been given another day to glorify him. Petition God that you may be open to any graces he would like to share with you today. Ask God for his assistance in going about the day as a joyful missionary disciple. And then secondly, when you go to bed at night: thank God for the day and make a little examination of conscience. Acknowledge where we went wrong, but also acknowledge where we went right, where we listened to God and followed his Spirit.

To help people with this I often tell them to get a rock. Yeah, just some ordinary rock off the driveway and put it in your shoe. Tomorrow as you are getting ready for the day, you’ll put your foot in your shoe and say, “Oh there’s a rock in my shoe! Oh that’s right I need to make my morning prayers.” So you kneel down at the foot of your bed and make a morning offering to the Lord. When you are done, put the rock on your pillow. At night you go to climb into bed and notice, “Oh there’s a rock on my pillow! Oh, that’s right, I need to say my night prayers.” So you kneel down at the foot of your bed, thank God for the day make a short examination of conscience, and set your soul in the hands of God. And then when you’re done, put the rock back in your shoe. The next day, rinse, wash, and repeat.