I have had the fortune of being Catholic since I was a small child, and I can probably count on my hands the number of times in my life that I’ve missed Sunday mass. However, as Spiderman taught us: with great power comes great responsibility. Being a cradle Catholic, I have recently (in the last 5 years) found it important to grow as a person in both Knowledge and Wisdom. God gave me these gifts, and I know I must use them to improve myself, my family and friends, and the world at large. This doesn’t mean I need to end world hunger today and stop all war tomorrow. Rather, I understand it to mean I should do my best in the situation I’ve been given. I should make the most of the challenges I face. How do I do that though? Also, how does this relate in any way to the point of this article—how I pray?
 

As a child, I thought praying involved getting on your knees, putting your hands together, and reciting memorized words. You could say the Our Father, the Hail Mary, or the more difficult prayers if you remembered them. There was also the more spontaneous type of prayer: you asked for things you ‘needed’, thanked God for the things you were given, and sometimes had a conversation with him—if you were particularly lost. As I grew, these remained the only prayers I knew. However, one day I  attended“Night Fever” with my friends. At Night Fever, Holy Name Cathedral opens their doors to all passerby so they might stop in, light a candle, and say a prayer. The cathedral’s youth group hosts the event as a chance to experience adoration, reflective music, and a peaceful atmosphere. Events like Night Fever brought me to a revelation: the people who planned this event experienced something that brought them closer to God. The musicians, likewise, brought themselves closer to God with each strum of their instruments. When we really think about prayer, isn’t it supposed to be an experience that brings us closer to God? There’s not a wrong way to pray if we are pure in our motives.
 

If prayer is time that brings us closer to God, then surely anything  functions as prayer. I don’t mean to sound all meta, but this one thought revealed all the times that could now become more meaningful. Whenever I write, I should write with God in my heart. Whether strictly religious words or not, taking the time to sit with God and sharing my interests with him is most definitely prayer. The same thought occurred while reading: if I read to increase my wisdom and knowledge, and I plan to use this wisdom and knowledge to benefit other people, then isn’t this also prayer? I can read more than just the Bible prayerfully. As long as you are well intentioned and truly searching for God, then we can involve him in any facet of our lives. So how do I pray? I try to pray regularly through both reading and writing, reflecting upon the words God brings to me. I pray on the words that go in: why did God put the desire for this book in my heart? What is he telling me by sending this my way? How does it challenge me to be a better person? At the same time, I meditate on the words that come forth from me. Afterall, where are these words coming from? Sometimes,  like magic, something of value appears on the screen. I have sat down without a clue of what I wanted to type, and sure enough I fill the page within an hour. Not only that, but it all generally makes sense.
 

I guess my point is that you shouldn’t limit your prayer to the first or last part of your day. Everything and anything we do can be prayer, and we should do all things in our day for the glory of God. Be patient with the long line; practice your patience for God. Don’t yell at the person who cut you off in traffic; forgive them like you would if Jesus sat in the passenger seat. Remember that our prayer doesn’t need to be a stuffy conversation in a certain posture. Any time of any day can be an opportunity for prayer in our lives. We simply need to show up and God is there waiting.