5 Tips to Pray MORE, From the Heart, When You're TOO Busy

St. Francis de Sales once said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.”

I always feel at least a little bit better after I pray, especially when I prayer-journal and I’m praying from the heart. So why don’t I pray always, pray unceasingly, or at least pray for a consistent time each and every day? I have good intentions, but the day runs away from me. There are always more things to do, unexpected challenges, conversations, and needs. It’s hard to prioritize prayer and it’s difficult to remember to reach out in prayer, even when I really need to.

5 Tips to Pray MORE, From the Heart, even When You’re TOO Busy to Pray!

Here’s my collection of practical tips to pray more often, more consistently and from the heart:

Short Aspirations prayed OFTEN: “Jesus, I trust in You”, “Come, Holy Spirit”, “Help me, Jesus”, “I love You, Jesus”, “My Lord, and my God, have mercy on me, a sinner”
We can realistically pray these before, after, and during…everything we do.
Prompts to Pray: Use the things we see, hear, and do as reminders to pray those short aspiration prayers. Pray for others during regular prayer time, but also when their name or face comes to mind. Pray for others, as soon as they are mentioned to you or request your prayer.
This is a difficult one for me because we always seem to be late! Aim to be 5 minutes early for every meeting, appointment, or drop-off and spend that few minutes waiting, praying! I think this one came from Fr. Mark Mary of Ascension Press!
Pray whenever we are waiting…in person or online; at the post office, bank or store or waiting for a site to load, a document to save.
Pray from the Heart. Don’t insist on perfection. Our prayer doesn’t need to be beautifully eloquent or exquisitely curated. Our prayer from the heart is meaningful, unique as we are and possibly unrepeatable and draws us closer to Jesus, every time! Don’t insist on the perfect time and place to reach out in prayer, putting off prayer to that next, allegedly more peaceful phase of life. Pray in the Present Moment!
Invite Jesus into the Present Moment; Practice the Presence of God. Be open to recognize His Presence with you and allow that to influence what you think, say and do and how you think, say and do it. Invite Him into your busy day; the joy and the suffering… with gratitude and trust in His Mercy.