Lift up your heart to God with prayers that take one second

Prayer doesn't always have to be long and laborious. It can consist of short bursts throughout the day that only take one second of your time.

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Sometimes we can think that prayer is only prayer when we are sitting in a pew on church on Sundays.

While that certainly is a type of prayer, it is not the only type of prayer.

Prayer can consist of short “bursts” of love that we pepper our day with throughout the week.

This type of prayer usually lasts around a second, and can easily fit in our busy lives.

Aspirations

St. Francis de Sales suggests this method of prayer in his Introduction to the Devout Life:

Do you then, my daughter, aspire continually to God, by brief, ardent upliftings of heart; praise His Excellence, invoke His Aid, cast yourself in spirit at the Foot of His Cross, adore His Goodness, offer your whole soul a thousand times a day to Him, fix your inward gaze upon Him, stretch out your hands to be led by Him, as a little child to its father, clasp Him to your breast as a fragrant nosegay, upraise Him in your soul as a standard. In short, kindle by every possible act your love for God, your tender, passionate desire for the Heavenly Bridegroom of souls.

Thereare many prayer books that contain collections of these aspirations or “ejaculatory” prayers, but we don’t always have to use them.

In fact, St. Francis de Sales suggests spontaneously composing our own prayers throughout the day:

Sundry collections of ejaculatory prayer have been put forth, which are doubtless very useful, but I should advise you not to tie yourself to any formal words, but rather to speak with heart or mouth whatever springs forth from the love within you, which is sure to supply you with all abundance.

A simple example of such a prayer would be, “I love you, Jesus!“

Praying these words throughout the day, every day, can have a very positive effect on our soul, as we strive to bring our lives closer in union with Christ.

If you find yourself extremely busy and unable to sit down to pray, make an effort to pause for one second and pray, “I love you, Jesus!”