We all know that praying consistently is a good thing but knowing what to do in prayer is hard sometimes. I used to have a really good prayer routine, one that filled me up in many ways. However as the season of life that I had that routine in ended, so did the success of that routine. Something needs to be said for figuring out how and what to pray for your specific season of life, and that’s what I am here to do today. 

When I lived on a campus with chapels in every dorm and daily mass three times a day, it was easy to have a focused prayer routine. But that is not every stage of life, nor is it my stage now. 

This season of life that I am in is more out of my hands. A lot of what I can do depends on how I am feeling that day. You see I’m sick, I’ve been sick for a long time, and while I am getting treatment its a mystery if I will be able to do what I have planned for that day when I get up every morning. Routines are hard for me in any capacity right now, because I have to rely on listening to what my body needs. But I thrive on routine. At least having one. I can deviate no problem, but having a routine grounds me and makes me feel like I accomplished at least something. What I have found that works in this season of life is a little reading every day, during advent I had the Blessed is She advent and Christmas book, that was great, and now I read the daily readings. I can do these any time and it keeps me grounded in the word without me having to do a lot of work. 

If you are in a similar season to me I would try to start reading the daily readings. They have been ordained from all time to be read on that particular day, which is really special. 

If you crave a little more structure a great practice to add is saying a daily rosary. In the car, on the bus, in the morning, at night, whenever it works for you. 

If you are looking for specific prayers to pray at different times during the day, you may want to look into the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the common prayer of the church which priests and religious promise to say every day. These prayers are alive and when you pray them, you are praying with the whole church at that very moment.

Another practice I highly recommend that works well for me is journaling. Either in the morning as a preparation for the day, or in the evening to empty yourself for the next day. This can be done any way you would like, I tend to write a letter to God, others write like a diary, which ever works for you. 

And if you are just really struggling to find God in anything and remembering to pray at all, lifting up any moment of your day and saying, God take this, is prayer, and can be the best way to heal your heart at that moment. You can also try playing Christian music as you get ready in the morning, or writing out a simple prayer that speaks to you and place it on your mirror or on your bedside table to remind you who you are and whose you are. 
Whatever season you may be in, God wants to commune with you through prayer. Ask Him how He would like you to pray and try different things until you find something that works for you. 

What type of prayer is working for you right now?

I have a free resource for prayer routines, download here