If prayer is not an optional extra - not just for holy people who have the leisure - we might feel somewhat discouraged if we are unsure of what to do when we pray. Maybe it helps to say, "how could I not pray, seeing the relationship God has and wants with me"? But are there any practical, tried and tested approaches to prayer? What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say? Fr John Edwards gives some possible answers from the depths of the Catholic tradition.

Before entering the Jesuits, where he has spent most of his life giving talks, retreats and missions throughout Britain, Fr John Edwards spent ten years in the Royal Navy. He lives and ministers at Farm St Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair and is the author of Ways of Praying, published by Family Publications.

Faith Matters Autumn 2009 Lecture 2 from Catholic Westminster on Vimeo.