Prayer, Instant, Just Add a Touch of Holy Spirit

Recently, I heard a woman sigh that she really needed some short prayers.  The 5 or 3 minute variety in many of the books that are popular today were just too long for her.  She lost her attention before she got to the end. I assumed she knew of some traditional prayers that would be short.  It doesn't take long to pray a Hail, Mary or an Our Father.

I felt at first slightly judgemental and dismissive of this woman, I am sorry to say.  It seemed to me that her priorities were all wrong if she didn't want to place God first in her life because she wanted short prayers.  I felt that we had nothing in common.  But, the still small voice in my head said, "At least she wants to pray...."

I told her I would help her out. I am engaged in writing a prayer book, just for her, of some very short little prayers.  When the thought came to me to make the offer to do this, I realized that I was just the one to do it.  Although I wish I could say that I spent hours every day deep in uninterrupted prayer, really most often I have a hundred small conversations with Jesus throughout the day.  Most days I try for more than that, a rosary here, daily Mass there, but, in truth, a great deal of my prayer life besides reading Scripture and daily commentaries is little short prayers of praise and joy, intercessions for people, and pleas for help and rejoicing when help comes.

I rejoice that the Holy Spirit picked me to write a little book of short prayers for this woman.  I will not judge her and instead I will call her a friend of mine, because she wants to pray to God just as I do.  In that expression of a desire to pray is a longing for God.  After she gets the ball rolling on her prayer life, who knows where it will take her?

***But if she goes on to become a great saint in the Church someday, I hope I get a tiny footnote on her page***
by Mary at Hope Echoes