PRAYER


Matthew Kelly (2020). I Heard God Laugh: 

                                     A Practical Guide to Life's 

                                    Essential Daily Habit.


Kelly tells of a man named John who taught him how to pray...just the two of them in a church...John read some scripture, they sat silently and conversed with God about it, then another scripture...from this Kelly developed his own method of prayer: gratitude, review of last 24 hours, significant moments, penance, freedom, intercession for others, and finishing with the Our Father...this looks a lot like what i've read in other places called ACTS--adore, confess, thanksgiving, and supplication.

Kelly also says contemplative prayer is the most important kind of prayer, but he doesn't tell us how to do it (for those interested in Christian contemplative prayer google Thomas Merton, St. Therese of Avila, St. John of the Cross for starters)...there are also rich contemplative traditions for prayer and meditation in Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Sufi, and so forth...the entire mystical side of prayer seems absent.

My personal opinion is we should do more listening than talking during prayer...

Kelly's biggest point is that we should take 10 mins of prayer with God every day so that God can teach us how to live and love...totally agree that we need prayer time with God every day to "show us the way."


what does your daily prayer/meditation practice look like...if you don't have one, get one...there are many options if you google the word prayer and/or meditation, the important thing is to DO IT...let prayer/meditation become an integral and transformative part of your life.




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