Milagros Ramos

Prayer is a basic necessity for us as Christians. Realizing this will help us have a better relationship with Jesus. We are blessed because we could not have a better teacher than Jesus. He prayed to the Father every chance He got. He even gave us the Lord's Prayer so that we can pray to our Father in heaven. We can learn and use this prayer daily. Therefore, those who don't know anything else, can at least pray the Lord's Prayer.

Prayer is a way we can talk with God. A Christian at heart needs to talk and communicate with God at all times. The only way we can do that, is through prayer. There are people who don't consider themselves Christian, yet prayer is a relief for the soul of all human beings and you may even hear them asking for prayers.

If we are having problems, feeling anxious, confused and lost, turn to prayer. Trying to figure out the significance of your life, or you want to see the other side of things, turn to prayer. If we are looking for a deeper meaning of things than we need to turn to prayer.

We may say, I don't have time for prayer, I don't know if I am doing "it" correctly. There is no wrong way. Do you feel the Lord is at a distance? How do I begin to pray? We begin right where we are. That is the best place to begin to pray. Our relation begins with simply giving ourselves to the Lord no matter what we do. God surrounds us with His great love and it does not matter where we are. In our life on this planet we are always surrounded by the deep love of God, no matter where or what we do.

All we have to do is believe in God's love and open ourselves to God's presence which can be found in everything that surrounds us. Just close your eyes and feel God's presence. Quiet yourself and feel God. When this happens, begin to pray.

Moments of informal prayer or traditional prayer as is the "Our Father" can be enriched by putting our heart and our feelings in the very presence of God. You can create your own experience of prayer by taking a walk, maybe at a park, by the lake or sitting under a tree wherever you see the beauty of God's wonder, our gifts. Be sensitive to smells, to sounds and search in all you see the presence of God. Let God guide you through the prayer. Sit in a quiet place, breathe deeply and relax. Now tune in with God, bring to your mind some event that you like and that brings you to the presence of God, enjoy being in God's presence, enjoy the peace that is felt to be with God.

The prayers are the soul of our relationship with God, is the means by which we raise our hearts to the heavenly throne, prayer is the channel we open for our creator to communicate His love to us. In the simple prayer that springs from the depths of the heart, we say to God friend, trust and surrender spring forth. We begin to heal spontaneously by love. Raise your heart to the Lord. If in God we live and exist, then prayer must be something as natural as breathing.