Reasons to Make Time In Your Life for Prayer
No matter what your faith is, it’s always good to make a little time for prayer. Even you’re a fire-breathing atheist, take some time to just wonder at the universe, rather than always thinking of this world.
All ancient cultures use prayer, and when John Robbins journeyed to the four longest-lived cultures on earth (communities in Chile, Japan, Russia and Pakistan), he was surprised to find none of them even knew what an atheist was, even though they were fairly remote from established religious churches.
Prayer feels like an open line to God. Think of prayer as a reset button for the mind. Quiet reflection washes away worry and brings life into clearer focus. Many people find that just a short time spent in silence or peaceful prayer, helps them feel more centred and alert for the rest of the day.
You don’t need hours of free time to pray. With a bit of intention and creativity, prayer can be part of even the busiest routine. Sacred moments can happen anywhere – on the morning train, during a lunch break, or before bedtime.
Saint Padre Pio (pray, hope and don’t worry!)
When you start reading stories about some of the ancient Catholic saints, it’s far more interesting than watching reality TV shows!
Padre Pio was an Italian saint, renowned for performing many miracles, and had the stigmata (blood on his hands, like Christ when crucified). He would spend hours each day in prayer, and advised everyone to ‘pray, hope and don’t worry’.
Fellow friars said he often appeared in several places at one time, and when not performing miracles, he would often be seen to hear confessions (12 to 15 a day). He said that when people confessed their sins, he would smell flowers!
Just 5 years old when he devoted himself to God, he began his holy life age 15, and lived in a rural friary for over 50 years, until he died in 1968.
Now one of the world’s most popular saints, he has been documented as having performed many miracles. The most remarkable was during World War II, when Italy was still under the Nazi rule.
The bombs that American air forces dropped failed. Years later when an American air base was established nearby, one of the pilots recognised the friar, who he says he had ‘seen in the air’ on that very day!
Irish nun Sr Briege McKenna was once asked how to pray. She said it’s a bit like sunbathing. You simply go somewhere you feel at peace with God, and kind of do the same – just sit and be, and absorb your faith and that’s prayer, rather than parroting off prayers you learned in childhood.
Blair Piras is an American Catholic artist, who offers lovely images of Jesus and favourite saints, with prayer cards on the back. These are nice to carry on your person (especially when travelling) or just to keep by your beside.
Poor Clares (Ireland) is a closed order of Catholic nuns, who wrote a very popular book Calm the Soul, based on their popular music. They have nice prayers on site, by nuns who between them have very interesting histories.
From former campaigners to accountants, you can read their biographies on-site from how they ended up here, after quite a few heavy partying days!
The worst moment for an atheist, is when he feels a profound sense of gratitude. And has no-one to thank. G K Chesterton
To only think ‘you’re alive, you have acne and then you die’, makes you wonder what it’s all for. (Victoria Wood, who became interested in the Quaker faith before her death).
