Having a daily prayer life is essential to strengthening one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and nurturing the body, mind, and soul. As Catholics and Christians, many of us have built prayer into our daily lives and rely on God heavily throughout each day. For others, it is difficult to begin a prayer routine and build it into a busy schedule or once begun, to stay consistent with it. Today, Maria Lipp shares her perspective and practice of prayer in her day-to-day life as an entrepreneur. We pray this may serve as inspiration to you to find your own ways to schedule prayer into your daily routine.
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Deciding to grow a business from scratch with ingenuity in one hand and dreams in the other relies greatly on the assurance that one is called by God to serve others through the talents and skills he or she has been given.
For that reason alone, there is no better way to start my day than by giving thanks. I thank God for life, for the lives of my children, my spouse and my family. I give thanks for the gift of rest and ask God to help me make the best of the new day.
Throughout my day, prayer allows me to remain humble. Giving thanks and acknowledging that God has control allows me to see myself more objectively and not through the eyes of my ego, which can make me see myself as great when I succeed and less than deserving when I fail. Giving the glory to God when things go right and learning the lessons God presents in the form of failure enables me to grow humbly.
As I go about my day, I ask God for help. Entrepreneurs encounter situations that require us to think on our feet and make quick decisions all the time, many of these decisions being crucial to our livelihood. Entrepreneur or not, all of us at some point are called to trust people and systems that we may not be familiar with. In these times, it’s so important to pray that our decisions will serve the purpose God has for us. So that’s what I do each day. I pray to God, asking Him for help and that He will guide me to make the right decisions, the ones that will keep me on the path that He has laid out for me.
At night, prayer brings me peace. It helps me sort out the lessons I was set to learn that day. By taking time to connect with God through the experiences of the day, it allows me to recharge and build on the progress I’ve made. Night prayer allows me to focus on the things I need to work on the next day and reflect on the things I need to improve to become better. It gives me clarity of heart and mind. I often lead with passion for my purpose—passion for helping others grow and thrive. By collecting my thoughts and feelings at the end of the day through prayer, I find myself forgiving those that have wronged me and not harboring ill feelings towards them, as well as asking for forgiveness for my wrongdoings. Night prayer is a time to reconcile the deeds of the day to be able to start fresh the next day.
Entrepreneurship relies heavily on one’s ability to trust that God has a plan. It relies on being able to give glory and thanks to God for the opportunities that present themselves, while remaining humble and maintaining a servant leader attitude even when it is the hardest. All of this would not be possible without being able to speak to God directly through prayer throughout the day. I’m blessed by my Catholic faith, my relationship with Christ, and my prayer life. Forming a daily prayer routine gives me the grace and strength to live this life to the fullest and enjoy the journey. I would encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to form your own daily prayer routine in a way that fits into your schedule and life. Prayer does not have to be complicated. All the Lord asks is that we pray. What is one thing you can do today to commit or recommit yourself to a daily prayer life?
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If you are just starting your own prayer routine or are looking to “refresh” the one you already have, here are some resources and ideas we recommend:
- Hallow: Catholic Meditation app
- Echo Prayer app
- Relevant Radio app
- Start a prayer journal that you write/pray in at the beginning and end of every day
- Set “Reminders” in your phone to pray at several times during the day (A great start is praying the Angelus at noon and the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm every day!)
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Written by Maria Lipp, TLI Class of 2019 in Phoenix, AZ