Evening Prayers

Evening prayers can help you thank God for the day's blessings

Can you make some quiet time for God at the end of your day? Evening prayers can help you thank Him for the days blessings and ask for His forgiveness of your sins and protection during the night.

Evening prayers should be part of a special time at the end of your day where you take an honest look at your life with our Lord. Just as we offer God everything in our day in morning prayers, at night we reflect on our actions, asking Him for the grace to serve Him better the next day. If you find yourself pressed for time, take a moment at least, with help from the Holy Spirit, to think about your sins and your spiritual progress.

Remember though that humility is essential in this task. Otherwise you might not approach God with the honesty you need to try to see yourself as He sees you!

This time spent in prayer can help you listen to our Divine Physician (as our Lord referred to Himself in Mark 2:17) as He diagnoses your spiritual maladies to help you get to Confession when necessary for His cure: His forgiveness and His grace from the Sacrament of Penance.

This doesn't mean that you should only dwell on your litany of sins, however! You can thank God for inspiring the good things you're doing, for those times when your soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46). It's also a good idea, when you have more time to savor these moments with Him, to say some wonderful evening prayers found here taken from a four-volume set of prayers, psalms, readings and hymns known as the Liturgy of the Hours. These books constitute the official prayer of the Church for praising God and sanctifying each day. (The third prayer given above is just a sample of the spiritual treasure trove found there!)

Priests as well as religious (such as friars and nuns) who have professed solemn vows are required to recite excerpts from the Liturgy of the Hours daily. Lay people are encouraged to recite them as well, either individually or in groups. These prayers are also referred to in this context as Compline (from the Latin word meaning completion) and often called 'Night Prayer'.

Remember our Lord would love to hear your own thoughts in addition to your evening prayers as long as you give Him heart service not lip service.

Ending your day with prayer is a wonderful way to let go of stress and find peace before falling asleep. No matter what you faced today, talking to God through goodnight prayers will renew your faith. Evening prayer also helps you see all the good things that happened in your day that you have to be thankful for!

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God Bless You!