The 24 Hour Prayer

Being a Catholic Christian provides for such a wonderful and rich prayer life. We have so many varied ways to pray. We have all the rote prayers we've learned as a child, like The Lord's Prayer, which we affectionately call the Our Father, and the Hail Mary among many others. We have the beautiful meditation of the rosary, in which we join our Blessed Mother Mary, in recalling the life of Christ. We also have the spirit-driven, spontaneous prayer, in which I'm very fond. And of course, our ultimate prayer, is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our highest form of worship. I feel so blessed to have so many opportunities to engage with our Heavenly Father.
One thing that often bothered me, was how to pray for family and friends in need. In my younger days, I would often agree to pray for someone and then soon forget, as I hurried through my day. I often felt like Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, when he was listening to all the prayer requests in his head. As I matured in my prayer life, I started keeping a record of those who had asked for prayer and family members I knew were in need. I still keep that same prayer list today and refer to it several times a week and sometimes on a daily basis. But, with even more maturity, I've come to realize that my whole day, all 24 hours, is a prayer in itself. When this dawned on me, it was such a beautiful revelation from God. I like to think of it as The 24 Hour Prayer. It works so well, especially for a busy life, and I know most people are very busy. I can usually remember my morning and evening prayer without to much effort, but if my day is really busy, it's hard to squeeze in prayer time. Once your start the 24 Hour Prayer, it gets easier and easier and the Holy Spirit will prompt you with thoughts of those in need. The Lord will work with you, not against you. I may be driving to work and someone comes to mind and I'm able to quickly give a word of prayer for them, or I may be typing at my desk and remember to lift a prayer for a friend in need. When discussing the economic and job climate with a co-worker, I find myself quietly thanking God for my job. I've even prayed in the bathroom. Hey, you have to make use of your quiet time! When you don't have 30 minutes during the day to pray for all your family and friends at one time, you give over to your harried, fast-paced, day and incorporate these prayers throughout the day. I've found this 24 Hour Prayer very rewarding and less stressful. I'm sure as time passes, the Lord will reveal more ways that I can spend time with Him. I enourage you to try this method and see if it works in your life. And don't forget about yourself...God loves you and wants to hear your needs and praises of thanks too!

Keep on Dancing!!