The following is an excerpt from a blog post on Life Teen.

"But come to find out, in order for God to respond to us in prayer, we have to let Him; we have to listen to Him.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays this out perfectly saying, “Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560). It doesn’t matter who we are, where we are, or what we’ve done: God is there, waiting for us to come before Him in humble surrender, and it’s His desire, His thirst for us, that makes it possible for us to desire Him.

In her book on prayer, Sr. Wendy Beckett, a British art historian and consecrated virgin, states that prayer is “God’s business. You bring yourself in whatever state you are and offer that to God.” I was having trouble with prayer because my prayers were a monologue, not a dialogue. I wasn’t listening to what God was saying to me!

It doesn’t matter if you say the perfect prayer or are in the holiest state. What matters most is giving time to God, simply placing yourself in His presence. He wants to encounter us, and we need to encounter Him authentically if we’re going to survive as Christians.

That being said, I want to give you a few practical tips that have helped me encounter God in my life:" 

Keep reading the article on Life Teen's Blog.