The book may be little, but its impact is profound. Pocket Guide to Prayer by Catholic husband-and-wife duo Dr. Edward and Beth Sri will transform not only the way you think about prayer but the way you pray.
Dr. Sri is a noted professor and teacher, and the author of several popular books on Scripture, theology, and spirituality. I spoke with him recently about this new book, published by Ascension Press. He explained the reason for writing it, saying that he and Beth hoped to provide a roadmap to a more fulfilling spiritual life. He understands the power of prayer, explaining that it has helped them deepen and strengthen their family life and their marriage. They wanted to create a “how-to” book for developing the habit of prayer and for overcoming struggles, and they wanted to do so with their own encouragement and wisdom and that of the saints.
Prayer is the way we strengthen our relationship with God, but it’s not simply the rote prayers that build this relationship, it’s the dialogue that we have with Him. And while saying prayers like the Our Father or Hail Mary is important, it’s even more important to go deeper into what Dr. Sri calls mental prayer or meditation.
What does that mental prayer entail? Dr. Sri explains that we must take time to dialog with God. Meditation includes taking a reading from the Mass or from a devotional or sacred text, reading a portion of it, then pausing and reflecting. In doing so, we must talk to God, listen to His response, and ask Him how this reading applies to our life.
We must then take the time to feel His words in our heart, for God truly wants to know our hearts, and He wants us to know His heart. We can only do that if we listen to Him.
Books like this Pocket Guide to Prayer are fantastic tools to help us grow in our faith and in our spiritual practices. And this book is for everyone—for beginners who aren’t sure how to pray, for people who have a strong prayer life, and for anyone in between.
Within this pocket-sized book, you will find nine chapters that include topics such as the heart and primacy of prayer, how to start praying, family, struggles with prayer, liturgical prayer, and more. It ends with a list of common Catholic prayers and questions to ponder when examining your conscience before confession.
Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, host of the Rosary in a Year podcast, wrote in the introduction to the book: “The Sris do a brilliant job of speaking about prayer in a way that is both inspirational and instructional, weaving together the foundational teachings on prayer found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as the wisdom garnered through years of their own radical pursuit of the Lord in the midst of all the realities that come with raising and providing for a beautiful Catholic family.”
In this pocket guide, the Sris explain that there are three foundational things we must do as we prepare to pray. We must set a time each day to pray, set a quiet place, and prepare our hearts. They explain that if we do not do this, “we will not progress far in the spiritual life.”
Yet what happens when we feel overwhelmed, can’t find the right words, experience moments of darkness, or just feel spiritually uninspired? Dr. Sri wants readers to know that we’re not alone and that this is often part of the spiritual journey. But he asks, “Will you remain faithful and remain with God in the darkness?” He explains that if we don’t give up, God will take us to a deeper union with Him because “Jesus is really longing for souls that are willing to go deeper with Him in prayer, to persevere through the darkness.”
Even if we feel that our prayers are less than perfect, we can offer God our good intentions by prioritizing Him and eliminating outside distractions. If we do so, even if we lose focus, our time and effort are still gifts to God, for He can see what is in our hearts.
Prayer is crucial in all aspects of our lives—the good, the bad, and everything in between. And those of us who work in the pro-life movement know how integral prayer is in our efforts to build a culture of life. Doing so is impossible without a strong prayer life and without fostering respect and reverence for the family and for children.
As Dr. Sri says, “The pro-life movement isn’t merely just we have to stop abortion. . . . It’s building up beautiful, healthy families, and if we want that, that begins in every home, every marriage, every family. . . . It’s really ultimately going to begin with husbands and wives taking time for prayer. If you want a great family life, it’s important that Mom gets time to pray and Dad gets time to pray.”
If we are going to grow in the faith, help our children grow in the faith, and build a culture of life, then we must have a good prayer life and model that individual one-on-one time with God. Changing the culture begins with building a solid foundation of faith, and that begins in the home.
As the book so eloquently states, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every soul we encounter each day—our spouse, our children, our friends, our colleagues at work, the people in the parish, the poor on the street—if every person we meet each day looked up and saw ‘no longer us but only Jesus’! But this can only happen in a soul with a cultivated interior life. If we wish to truly radiate Christ in this world, we must be committed to daily prayer.”
This commitment to prayer is what will change not only us, but the world. And tools like the Pocket Guide to Prayer serve as beautiful guides on this spiritual journey as we all strive to radiate our Lord’s love to those around us.
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