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Ten Easy Steps to guide children into prayer

1. Make the Sign of the Cross with Love.
   
2. Close your eyes—this is very important—and ask the Holy Spirit and Our Lady to help you to forget all of your worries so that you can think of Jesus.
   
3. Imagine your favorite picture of Jesus. Picture it in your mind. Tell Jesus you love Him. If you are distracted, repeat His Name until the distractions go away.
   
4. When you are calm, thank Jesus for His blessings. Be specific (my family, my friends, my health, etc.)
   
5. Ask His forgiveness for the ways you have disappointed Him since you last prayed. Be specific (an examination of conscience.)
   
6. If you have a question or you need help with something, tell Him now. Expect Him to give you an answer. When you have told Jesus what is on your mind and in your heart, be still.
   
7. Be quiet with Jesus. Keep your favorite picture of Him in your mind. Do not talk to Him anymore. Just be with Him, love Him, and listen to Him. If you begin to have thoughts about something that you asked Him about, pay close attention to them. See Note.
   
8. If Jesus puts a thought in your mind to do something good, do it! If Jesus gives you a direction, a good thought, follow His direction! The more we follow God’s direction in little things, the more He will be able to show His love for us and through us, and the more we will learn to trust Him in return. If we are not sure that an inspiration is from God, we should ask our pastors and/or spiritual director to help us to decide. God will always bless us for being obedient to the people He has placed over us—as long as they do not ask us to commit a sin.
   
9. Thank Jesus for being with you. Ask Him to bless you as you go about your day.
   
10. Expect God to speak to you during the day—through other people, through nature, through your thoughts, through all of your experiences. Remember that there is no such thing as a coincidence for the person of faith. God is everywhere, and He is always speaking to us if we would only listen and learn to recognize the many ways He uses to communicate with us.

Note: If while you are listening to God, you find it impossible to concentrate, do what so many saints have done over the centuries: take the Bible, open it to any part of the Gospel, and read what it says. Keep reading until something strikes you or catches your attention. Then stop and think about that part. God will often speak directly to you through that passage.

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