How many times have we told ourselves that Lent will be a time where we will pray more?  Yet, after a few days we realize that we are not very practiced prayers and we end up continuing our prayer with the not very creative memorized prayers of our youth.

St. Teresa of Avila may be able to help us.  She said if we know how to speak to a dear friend, we know how to pray.  Marvelous, isn’t it?  Now all we have to do is realize that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are our dear friends!  Then we can pray and speak to them with truth and sincerity about what is going on in our lives – just as we would to a dear friend over a cup of coffee.

And, there is no requirement that we be in church, or on our knees, or take some special posture to pray.  We can pray and carry on our conversation with our dear friend while taking a walk or walking the dog; while sewing or knitting; while sitting in our favorite chair.  The conversation is what is important.

And after we have shared what we want to share with our dear friend, take some time to listen, in quiet, for a response.  God wishes to communicate with us as well and each moment of our lives can be a graced moment where God is trying to speak to us.  Let’s not forget the time in prayer for listening.