How do I pray with scripture?

God Speaks to Us First

The fundamental truth that God is concerned for each of us long before we became concerned for ourselves makes it possible for us to pray to God. God desires communication with us and speaks to us continually:

• through Jesus Christ, God's Word made flesh;

• through the church, the people who are the extension of Christ in the world;

• through visible creation, another form of God's self-revelation which is the physical context of our lives;

• through the events and experiences of our lives; through Holy Scripture, which is the mode of communication we are most concerned with in prayer.

God Invites Us to Listen

Our response to God's initial move is to listen. This is the basic attitude of prayer.

How to Go about Listening

What you do immediately before prayer is important. Normally, prayer is something you do not rush right into. Spend a few moments quieting yourself and relaxing, settling into a comfortable, prayerful position.

When listening to anyone, you try to tune out everything except what the person is saying to you. In prayer, this can be done best in silence and solitude.

Try to find a quiet place where you can be alone and uninhibited in your response to God's presence. Try to quiet yourself interiorly. In an age of noise, activity, and tensions like our own, it is not always easy or necessary to forget our cares and commitments. Never feel constrained to blot out all distractions. Anxiety in this regard could get between ourselves and God.

Rather, realize that the Word did become flesh and can speak to us in the noise and confusion of our day.  Sometimes in preparing for prayer, relax and listen to the sounds around you. God's presence is as real as they are.

Be conscious of your sensations and experiences of feeling, thinking, hoping, loving, of wondering, desiring, etc. Then, conscious of God's unselfish, loving presence in you, address God simply: "Yes, you do love life and feeling into me. You are present to me. You live in me. Yes, you do." Then ask for the grace to listen to what God says.