Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. Cathechism of the Catholic Church #2559
Faith is first and foremost about a relationship with the person of Jesus. Personal prayer is how we open up the lines of communication to build and grow that relationship.
Simply put, prayer is spending time with our friend Jesus. It’s that simple and that amazing! Just as we would with any good friend (or with anyone we would like to be better friends with), in prayer we take time to set distractions aside and be truly present with him. We spend quality time, both telling him about what’s happening in our lives and listening to him. We tell him the things that we love about him and apologize when we hurt him. Sometimes we’re just together in silence, appreciating each other. Because we are talking to a good friend, we need not worry about what to say or how to say it.
God wants a close, intimate relationship with us, a relationship which involved Him in every aspect of our lives. He wants us to trust in Him, to share our good times and troubles, to request His assistance. Through prayer, we bless, adore and praise God as our divine creator, and strive to understand God. We ask God to help us in our daily needs and in times of trouble, and give thanksgiving for all the blessings and graces He provides us.
These pages offer many different ways of praying, …