Let me begin this by saying that I get the feeling that "Prayer" seems to be out of the limelight and in the shadows at the present time.  It seems to me, that for the last generation or two, our governments and the media has taken huge steps to keep faith out of the mainstream.

I remember my father telling me that sometimes people tend to forget God in the "good times", and fall back on God during trials and times of despair.  My personal faith has not always been steady.  There have been ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys.

I know that Helen and I feel we can and should be doing a better job of embedding a strong foundation of Faith and Belief in God in our son, Alec.  It is something we, as a family, our striving to do.  Regular attendance and fellowship in a Church that helps to strengthen our Faith is definitely one way of creating and maintaining a strong foundation in God.

Prayer is, or should be, an important part of one's daily routines.  Our ongoing communication with our God...  Its not only what you say, but how you say it.  Prayer is about maintaining our relationship with our God.

If you feel that your prayer life could use some re-charging, here are some different ways that might spruce it up:

Integrate Prayer into your daily activities - start with a prayer of thanks for what you have received.  Dedicate everything you do, your work, your study, your play to God, and ask for strength to help you achieve your goals.

Write a letter to God - I have hear the suggestion of using your dominant hand to write the letter, and when you have run out of things to write, pause and reflect, and then use your non-dominant hand to write what comes to mind... it's God talking to you.

Meditation - Turn off the phone, the radio, the TV and the Computer... find a quiet and peaceful space to center yourself and breathe evenly and deeply.  Some people find a mantra helpful.  In general, we seem to take less time to "let go and let God", this time, even if it is only minutes a day can be extremely helpful in keeping you balanced and finding a deeper meaning in our lives.

Journal writing as Prayer - Again, for people that find it hard to articulate verbally, writing down our thoughts can be a way of meditating and allowing the clutter in our minds to melt away.

Prayer with Scripture and Imagination - Try and achieve a meditative state and read and re-read a passage of scripture until you have the flow of the passage memorized.  Try to imagine that you are there in place and time, a participant and reflect on the message and the lesson.

I happen to be Roman Catholic by faith, believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and believe the the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Jesus, His Son, and the Holy Spirit and my Scripture is the Bible, but I have tried to purposely tried to write this in a way that might appeal to any and everyone, regardless of your personal Beliefs, your God, and your Faith.

For me, the Scripture that has always inspired me most are the parables and the Sermon on the Mount.  My mother and grandmother loves Psalms.  What Scripture inspires you?

I have always favoured Meditation as my most inspiring form of Prayer... and How do You Pray?