Ephesians 5:20

Ephesians 5:20
always give thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

We always remember to ask God for things when we are in need, but do we always remember to thank Him?  We cannot forget that nothing is accomplished without His help and nothing can be done unless according to His will.

I was listening to Relevant Radio (which has a great app, btw) and there was a guest speaker talking about how we should structure prayers to God.  I don't always pray in a formal manner, usually I am just in a conversation with God, discussing my fears, concerns, and things that I am grateful for, but there are times when I am in a more formal prayer set and I found the information the speaker gave to be really useful.  Here's the gist of what he said:

1.  Ask for His forgiveness before starting your prayer.  "Dear God, please forgive me for my indiscretions and anything I have done that is not in accordance with You and Your desires for me."

2.  Pray for things to be done according to His will.  It is important to remember that whatever you are asking God for can only be done if it is His will for us.

3.  Express to God what it is you are hoping for in your life.

4.  Thank God for the bountiful blessings He has already bestowed unto you.

5.  Praise God.  Acknowledge His greatness and His everlasting love for you.

Like I said before, I don't always format my prayers in this manner but when I heard this, I thought it sounded like a beautiful way to pray to God when petitioning for something specific, important, or grand for myself or someone else.  I hope that everyone is able to be in a sort of constant prayerful conversation with God and it's nice to have several different ways to pray to Him.  That's why we have the rosary, novenas, chaplets, etc.  A rich prayer life is so important, especially as a Catholic, when developing and strengthening your relationship with God.  I hope this helps your prayer life just as it has helped me in my prayer life!

Thanks for reading!

Busy Mommy Blogger