Prayer Rituals
Little things to set habits in motion
I didn’t grow up Catholic or Presbyterian or Episcopal or Greek Orthodox.
Technically, I grew up Pentecostal.
But my formative years were in the Church of the Nazarene.
So, when I say that I grew up with zero appreciation for rituals and rote prayers and readings.
It was that little boat sculpture with The Lord’s Prayer inscribed on it that started my fascination with the whole idea of ritual.
…
Fast forward to now and, if you’ve ever listened to any of the voiceovers for these posts, you’ll notice that I do something pretty much every time I start to pray.
I take a big breath.
I’ve written so much about breath prayers that I feel annoying, but it is the act of intentional breathing that often gets me in the right mindset for prayer.
It is my trigger before praying.
When I take that big breath in and then slowly release it…I can feel myself ready for prayer.
It is something I started working on both intentionally and unintentionally.
There is something beautiful about having little rituals for your prayers.
And those big rituals you see in mass or in church services are just blown up rituals like taking a breath before praying.
You can create your own little rituals.
Another good example is when I was in my first behavioral psychology appointment and the psychologist popped a mint in his mouth before starting…and then he explained that he did this every single time he started a session with a patient.
It became a trigger to get his mind in the right space.
And if you are struggling to get into the right space for prayer, then maybe setting up a little ritual of your own can help things flow a bit easier for you.
Create your own small prayer ritual and see if it makes a difference.
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for the little details. Spirit, remind us that rituals don’t have to be bad. And help us find ones that light our soul on fire for you, Jesus. Amen.
Remember
You don’t have to be Catholic to be allowed to use prayer beads, to make the cross with your hands, or practice your own small rituals to get you into the right headspace for prayer. Find a small trigger to help you make the most of your prayer times. Keep it simple, then build up if you want.