How do you pray?

"Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you." -St. Augustine

"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers." -St. Teresa of Avila

"You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy – the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud." -St. Vincent de Paul

"Pray with great confidence, with confidence based upon the goodness and infinite generosity of God and upon the promises of Jesus Christ. God is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray." -St. Louis de Montfort

"Whether, therefore, we receive what we ask for, or do not receive it, let us still continue steadfast in prayer. For to fail in obtaining the desires of our heart, when God so wills it, is not worse than to receive it; for we know not as He does, what is profitable to us." -St. John Chrysostom

"Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry" -St. Pio of Pietrelcino

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here. -- Saint Anastasius of Sinai

He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. -- St. Benedict of Nursia

No man can attain to the knowledge of God but by humility. The way to mount high is to descend. -- Bl. Giles of Assisi

“How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray.” (Pope John Paul II)

“Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.” (Saint Teresa of Avila)

“It is morally impossible for him who neglects meditation to live without sin.” (Saint Alphonsus)

“You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart; in fact on certain occasions you should speak to Him only with your heart” (Saint Pio of Pietrelcina)

“You don’t know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!’ you can be sure you’ve already begun.” (Saint Josemaría Escrivá)

It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life. -Saint John Chrysostom

What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips? -Saint John Chrysostom

Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart? -Saint Gerard Majell

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. -Saint Ignatius of Antioch

We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: "I will pray, and then I will understand." This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work. In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in others. - Saint Charles Borromeo

We must pray without ceasing, in every occurrence and employment of our lives - that prayer which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him. - Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of Divine grace. - Saint Benedict

We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone. -Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

Look at gold: the more you melt it, the better it becomes; you could melt it until you had destroyed in it every imperfection. Thus does fire work on material things. The soul cannot be destroyed in so far as it is in God, but in so far as it is in itself it can be destroyed; the more it is purified, the more is self destroyed within it, until at last it is pure in God. -- Saint Catherine of Genoa

You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. -- Saint James the Lesser Apostle

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