Post published by CPilot

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Prayer

Many months ago, a wise person on this forum referred me to the 17th century text "Spiritual Combat"
http://patrimoinechretien.com/Bibliothèque/Oeuvres/ScupoliSpiritualCombat2016en.pdf

In particular, chapter XIX (begins on page 63) directly addresses the struggle we are each fighting. Here is an excerpt from the opening lines.

"CHAPTER XIX. How to resist the Lusts of the Flesh. THIS temptation must be dealt with in a way peculiar to itself, and unlike any other. In order, therefore, to fight successfully against it, three periods of time must be observed : – 1. Before the temptation. 2. During the temptation. 3. After the temptation. 1. Before the temptation, the struggle must be against the things which lead to it. First, you must not war against this vice by confronting it, but, on the contrary, by fleeing with all your might from the thing or person that may have the least likelihood of exciting it."

When I read the words "This temptation must be dealt with in a way peculiar to itself, and unlike any other", I understand that lust is a most insidious and pernicious temptation. Also, the closing words of the paragraph "you must not war against this vice by confronting it, but, on the contrary, by fleeing with all of your might..." I conclude that humans are not equipped to fight this temptation on our own. Human willpower is simply not enough.

This leads me to the point of this post and my question to all of you. How do we make our prayers more effective? I love the rosary, I love mass and each of the prayers that make up the liturgy, I particularly appreciate Blessed Adoration but on certain occasions these prayers are more effective for me than other times. How does one obtain the ability to pray like the great saints? What are the means to be as inspired like St. Paul or St. Augustine of Hippo? Is more prayer the answer or is there a certain way to approach prayer that is more effective? What are your thoughts?
JustADude more_vert
JustADude
@JoeinMD had me read "How to Pray Always" by Raoul Plus. Using scripture and tons of traditions to back it up, Raoul suggests we should pray always and details what praying always looks like. Basically, praying always is doing whatever is necessary throughout the day to ensure God is at the forefront of your mind all day long and even while sleeping at night. To acheive this, a person does not need to pray 24 hours a day, rather, he has to find ways to keep God on his mind all day and night long. I have found that praying the Liturgy of the Hours acheives this for me.
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