Process of Prayer

St. Ignatius proposes to those who wish to pray should ask God for three qualities:

• Openness of heart to hear God’s voice
• Generosity to respond to God
• Courage to overcome obstacles

The Six 'P's'

• Prepare a Passage from Scripture and have it marked and ready.
• Place.  Where you are alone and uninhibited in your response to God's presence
• Posture. Relaxed and peaceful. Seek harmony of body with spirit.
• Presence of God. Be aware of it and acknowledge and respond to it. When you are ready, turn to the passage.
• Passage. Read the passage from Scripture slowly and listen attentively.
• Pause.
• Don't be anxious. Don't try to look for implications or lessons or profound thoughts or conclusions or resolutions.
• Carry on a conversation (sometimes called a colloquy) with God about what you have heard. Tell God what you are thinking and feeling. What would you give to God? What do you want of God?
• Praying Scripture has nothing to do with "getting through" passages and books; it has everything to do with letting the meaning and the values of each single word sink into your life.
• After the period of prayer is over, it may be helpful to reflect back over the experience of prayer. This review will help you notice what the Lord is doing in your experience

- Fr Armand Nigro S.J. (adapted)

• Ask for God’s Light.  Begin this prayer with an awareness of God’s presence with you and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 
• Review the events of your day and ask yourself: how has God has been present in the events of this day and in the feelings I experienced today?
• Give Thanks. What are you grateful for and what has given you life this day? Thank God for the blessings of the day.  What are you not so grateful for? 
• Ask for God’s forgiveness for any failures to follow God’s way.