4 Keys to a Consistent Prayer Life 

This step is crucial to making the most of your time of prayer. Having everything that you need to pray with in one spot, all the time, will save you from wasting so much time.

If you can, carve out some kind of spot in your home where you can keep your prayer books, a journal, your bible, a rosary and whatever else you need to pray.

Maybe you have a spot on a bookshelf next to your bed. Is there a basket that you could put all of your prayer stuff in and set it next to a chair that you like to sit in?

Hopefully there is a spot in your house that you find peaceful where you can set all of your prayer items and leave them there. This way, even if you have a spare moment, you can sit down and pick something up to pray with. 

I'm going to suggest that you designate a prayer time for the morning AND the evening. This way, if both times are set, you are more likely to do it.

Know ahead of time what time you want to say your morning prayers and adjust your waking time accordingly. Praying first thing in the morning is so important. It really does set the tone for the rest of your day.

Only you can decide what time that will be and how much time you will take. For a season, you might only have one minute. In the next season, you might find you can swing 15 minutes. It doesn't matter how long, just do sit down to pray at this time every day.

Same with the evening. You should be trying to go to bed around the same time every night. I know that that is not always possible, but it is a goal to shoot for! Allow a few minutes before you pass out to say the prayers that you've decided to pray before bed. You might nod off in the middle of them (I do!), but that's okay. You showed up and you did your best. God sees your generosity and will reward you for it.

Sometimes when we are trying something new we jump in with both feet and set lofty goals. That's not just me, is it? When you make a plan for your morning and evening prayers, please don't over commit.

If you know your mornings can be rushed or interrupted, don't commit yourself to 30 minutes of prayers when you know you realistically only have five. Doing this will frustrate you and then you will give up.

Start small with just a few simple prayers, like the morning offering, or the live rosary and then if that goes well, add on something else. 

I would especially like to caution you about planning a lot of prayers right before bed. This is a lesson I learned over the years from falling asleep before I could ever finish them. Usually I get in my Examen and a few other short ones and that is it!

Inevitably you will fall off of the prayer wagon. Sickness will strike, a fussy baby will keep you awake way longer than you should be, toddlers will have you jumping out of bed and running in the morning.

That's okay! Don't feel like a failure if this keeps happening. The important part of this is to begin again as soon as possible. God sees what you are doing and knows you'd love to spend time with Him in prayer. He also knows, however, that you need to be attending to your daily duty when that is more pressing.

If you just keep forgetting to pray, implement the first three key points and then put a big sticky note in the bathroom to remind you about your prayer time. Upon seeing your note, all you need to do is to take that first step towards your prayer spot and your day will be off to a good start.