Prayer on the run: staying in touch with God doesn't require hours a day. Here are three ways to have a spirited life on the fly.

Go ahead. Admit it. You feel just a little guilty when it comes to prayer. Wish you prayed more. Wish you prayed better. Some days, wish you had prayed at all. These are actually good impulses, promptings of the Holy Spirit to deepen your relationship with God. It's the guilt you can do without.

You see, we often learn to pray from priests and religious whose lives are structured around decent if not lengthy periods of time for prayer. Then we feel guilty when we cannot maintain such schedules or ways of praying due to our obligations in the world.

But if we take the simple definition of prayer as lifting the mind and heart to God, we can find ways to pray while doing the dishes, driving to work, changing diapers, and cleaning out the garage. This is not to say we should stop striving to find a time and place apart to pray deeply. It's just that when those extended periods of quiet are not possible and there's no solitude at home even in the bathroom, we have other traditions to fall back on.

Prayer is like marriage. A healthy marriage needs and is nourished by a honeymoon to start and then periods when the couple gets a babysitter and spends time alone together. In these moments they strengthen their ability to communicate deeply. Yet in the fracas of everyday life, they develop a kind of shorthand communication--the quick kiss on the way out the door, for example. Single people know this, too, in their relationships with close friends.

So what kind of shortcuts and short-hand does our tradition give us so we can pray always?

Sign out at the door

Not all prayer involves words. Tracing the sign of the cross on your body or on the forehead of another is itself a prayer. We sometimes use words with the sign of the cross: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And we often use the sign of the cross to begin and end another prayer. But this powerful gesture can stand alone.

If your mornings are hectic, try this: Make it a habit to sign yourself with the sign of the cross as you leave your home. As a reminder, you might try tracing the cross on the door in chalk or hanging a cross or crucifix near the door.

The cross was first traced on you when you were presented to the community for Baptism, whether you were baptized as an infant or an adult. From that point on your loved ones taught you to sign yourself. And you do--at least at the beginning and end of Mass but probably many other times as well.

When you lie in your coffin, perhaps your loved ones will once again trace the cross on your forehead to say goodbye. The funeral rite also now allows for the cross that hung in the deceased person's home to be placed on top of the coffin after the body has been carried into church and placed before the altar.

Making the sign of the cross is second nature for Catholics. The upside of this is that you already have this prayer of the body ingrained in you. The downside is that we can become casual with the sign, hurrying through it as though we are swatting flies. Make the cross deliberately and mindfully as you go out the door.

Early Christian teachers and preachers saw the cross as an identification mark, an invisible seal that nonetheless marks you as belonging to Christ. Others saw the cross as a shield, protection from evil. The cross is therefore a perfect prayer to make before you sally forth into your day.

And if that seems to work, try making the sign of the cross when you return, too. The cross of Christ is the ultimate altar where Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice--himself, his own body and blood. By making the sign of the cross as you come in from school or work at the end of the day, you offer to God everyone you have encountered, all that you've done, even all the frustrations and failures of the day. You place all that you've experienced at the foot of Christ's cross.

By making the sign of the cross your going-out and coming-in prayer, you live out the last words of Psalm 121, a song that pilgrims sang as they went up to the temple in Jerusalem:

   The Lord will keep you from all evil;
      he will keep your life.
   The Lord will keep your going out and
      your coming in,
   from this time on and forevermore.

Being brief

This calls to mind another practice from Catholic tradition: the one-liner. We used to call these brief prayers "ejaculations," but to avoid tasteless jokes perhaps today we should call them "brief prayers."

Our grandparents were taught pious lines, the simplest of which was to say with faith the names of the members of the Holy Family, as if calling them to your side: "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Others were "My Jesus, mercy," "My God and my all," and "My God, I give thee thanks for what thou givest, for what thou takest away. May thy will be done!"

Perhaps the very first brief prayer uttered was that of the blind man on the road near Jericho, who called out to Jesus as he approached, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18: 38). Or the prayer of the 10 lepers, who called out to Jesus as he approached, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (Luke 17:13). Or that of the sinner whom Jesus commends as a model in prayer in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee was long-winded and eloquent, but God was more moved by the simple prayer of the tax collector: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

Christians in the Eastern churches combined these scriptural phrases into what is today known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It is often prayed over and over again, like a mantra. Some modern teachers of prayer suggest syncopating the words with your breathing, praying "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God" as you breathe deeply in, and "Have mercy on me, a sinner" as you breathe out. As simple as this prayer seems--and can be--it has nonetheless engaged the hearts of mystics and others of deep prayer for centuries.

Being brief in prayer is not only practical, Jesus explicitly recommends it: "When you are praying, do not heap on empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them because your Father knows what you need before you ask" (Matt. 6:7). On the cross Jesus prayed the first verse of Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And his dying breath was the fifth verse of Psalm 31: "Into your hands I commend my spirit."

Now God loves a good heart-to-heart, where you tell all, sparing no details. So have it when you can and when you need to. But again, when you're in a bind and the choice is between brief prayer or no prayer, be brief.

Spiritual sound bites

Brief prayers fit with our culture, too. Think of the 10-second sound bite, in which the complexities of the world are reduced to a few sentences, or the abbreviations we use in text-messaging and e-mail. But since we are more familiar with the Bible than our grandparents had the opportunity to be, perhaps instead of dusting off their pious one-liners, we could take ours from the psalms.

The psalms cover a whole range of human emotions from joy to grief to just plain crankiness. There is a verse for every and any occasion. Ready for bed? Try Psalm 4:8:

   I will lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, 0 Lord,
   make me rest secure.

Worried about work? There's always Psalm 90:17:

0 prosper the work of our hands!

Have that scared-up-to-here with bills, worries, or housework feeling? Psalm 69 is your prayer:

   Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck.

And the words of the psalms can carry our prayer when we are left speechless by life's joys and sorrows. What better prayer could one sigh from depression than Psalm 130:1:

   Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
   Lord, hear my voice!

Or what more eloquent words might one exclaim when God turns bad to good than those of Psalm 30:11:

   You have turned my
   mourning into dancing.

So browse the Book of Psalms and see what jumps out at you. The trick is to choose verses that speak directly to God, not just about God. Notice how the examples above say: "Hey, you, God!"

There's nothing wrong with memorizing, calling to mind, and saying a verse that talks about God, of course. Standing beneath the canopy of the night sky, who wouldn't want to exclaim, "Praise God, sun and moon/praise God, all you shining stars!" (Psalm 148:3). But if another way of understanding prayer is conversation with God, it's best to speak directly to the one you want to answer! It's the difference between saying to your spouse, "I love you!" and, "You know, I love that person I'm married to."

Copy psalm verses as you need them on small slips of paper you can carry in your pocket or post somewhere visible. Pray a verse over and over as each occasion warrants. Soon you'll have it memorized, and the practice will be as spontaneous as breathing and have much the same effect. Take a deep breath; pray a brief prayer. Busy people can pray always!

PSALM-BITES: SOME BRIEF PRAYERS FOR BUSY PEOPLE

Browse the psalms and pick out verses that speak to God about various moments of your day or momentous events of your life. Here are a few suggestions from David Philippart.

Prayers for waking up:

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

Psalm 5:3

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we might rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14

Prayers for sleep:

I will lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me rest secure.

Psalm 4:8

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

Psalm 31:5

Prayers to give yourself over to God:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Psalm 25:1

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

Psalm 31:5

Prayer for mealtime:

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16

Prayer before showering:

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:2

Prayers upon looking in the mirror:

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works!

Psalm 139:14

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.

Psalm 70:18

Prayers when you feel God is not paying attention:

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Psalm 10:1

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

Psalm 13:1

Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my Lord and my God!

Psalm 35:23

Prayers in distress:

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress.

Psalm 31:9

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

Psalm 69:1

O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

Psalm 70:12

Prayer in sad times:

My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

Psalm 119:28

Prayer in happy times:

You have turned my mourning into dancing.

Psalm 30: 11

Prayers of thanks and praise:

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart and I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 86:12

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

Psalm 18:1

Prayer to avoid gossip or telling off-color jokes:

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalm 141:3

Prayers for studying or for discerning a path in life:

Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

Psalm 119:73

Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

Psalm 25:4

Prayers of sorrow:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.

Psalm 51:1

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Prayers at work: O prosper the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity.

Psalm 26:1

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

Psalm 69:1

Prayers during summer, drought, or when thirsty:

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God!

Psalm 42:1

Prayer for your city or for homeland security:

May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.

Psalm 144:14b

By DAVID PHILIPPART, who lives and writes--and tries to pray always--in Chicago.