Can enough be said about prayer? Can we pray enough? Do we pray as much as we should? I believe the answer to this is NO! What then can we say or do about prayer? This is a question that I wrestle with often. Try as I may, I usually come up wanting. The good thing is that God is merciful. We can hit the reset button and commit to doing better any time and as many times as needed.
I have commented before on entering into the Mass and praying the Mass and not simply attending. In this way we can increase the quantity and quality of prayer. This is another reason to be at Mass as much as possible throughout the week. Outside of this, however, we need to create a culture of prayer in our daily lives. Our day should become one prayer. Most of us are not professed Religious so we have a full plate of duties during the day. We can still invite God into everything we are doing. This is a key part of my prayer life. I bring my thoughts to God and talk to him as I go about the day. I ask for help with decisions, thank him for good things that happen, and ask for assistance through the bad things that happen. I pray the Rosary throughout the day (some days are easier than others to do this). The point is that we can consecrate our day to God and drench ourselves in prayer. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Of course, quiet prayer is absolutely necessary. We need to set time aside with God each day to listen to what he has to say. We need the space to feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) This prayer does not and really should not be a laundry list of complaints or requests but a time to simply sit with God. A time to let him speak to us. I find it a time to give praise to him for all the good I have been blessed with and to share thanksgiving for all the love and graces he bestows on me. It would be good to simply bring our day, all our baggage and concerns, our successes, and failures before him and simply be. We do not have to talk about it. “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)
Let us not forget Scripture. We should be reading the Scriptures every day. The readings of the day are a wonderful way to incorporate God’s teachings into the day. Simply taking the time to read anything and sitting with it in God’s presence will provide graces unimaginable. But all this takes time we may say. Yes, it does. It is time well spent, and it is something we should not and really cannot do without. A prerequisite of a good prayer life is to humble ourselves before God. No matter how important we think we are, how successful we may be, how popular we are or how independent we claim to be, we are absolutely nothing without God. When we submit to this fact, we open ourselves to the graces of God and we begin to live a life with meaning and purpose and will experience a peace that not all have. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that in time he may exult you. Cast all your anxieties on him for he cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.” (1 Peter 5:6-8)
I am not an expert on prayer or perfect at it. In fact, I have much to improve on! But I would venture to say that we all do. All we can do is to try to do better and encourage one another. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. One family. Family is supposed to take care of one another. “Every day, as long as this “today” lasts, keep encouraging one another.” (Hebrews 3:13)
“If men knew the peace good Religious enjoy, the whole world would become a monastery.” (St. Scholastica)
Men's Rosary 
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