3 things to do when you don't how to pray to God

Here is what to do the next time you want to pray to God but just cant seem to find the words.

In his book, The Soul of the Apostolate, French Trappist monk Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard offers 10 things Christians can do when they experience a dryness in their prayer life.

Here are three of them:

Examine your conscience

The monk writes: "Admit your defects, passions, weaknesses, infirmities, helplessness, misery, nothingness. - Adore God's judgments with regard to the state in which you find yourself. - Submit to His holy will. - Bless Him both for His punishments and for the favors of His mercy. - Humble yourself before His sovereign Majesty. - Sincerely confess your sins and infidelities to Him and ask Him to forgive you. - Take back all your false judgments and errors. - Detest all the wrongs you have done and resolve to correct yourself in the future."

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Mediate on the Word

Chautard recommends taking "some text of Holy Scripture, or some vocal prayer, like the Pater, Ave, or Credo, and say it over, stopping at each word, drawing our various holy sentiments, upon which you may dwell as long as you like. At the end, ask God for some grace or virtue, depending on what has been the subject of your meditations. Do not stop on any one word if it wearies or tires you. When you find no more matter for thought or affections, leave it and pass on quietly to the next."

Study some more

In order to get over the spiritual dryness, the monk encourages the believer to do some serious meditation.

His advice: "Take some spiritual book (New Testament, Following of Christ), read a few lines, pausing long in between - meditate a little on what you have read, trying to get the full meaning and to impress it on your mind. - Draw some holy affection, love, contrition, etc., from the reading. Avoid reading or meditating too much. - Every time you pause, remain as long as your mind finds it pleasant or useful to do so."

This classic work was written on January 1, 1946.