If the average preacher asked his congregation for a showing of hands as to which congregants prayed in the days leading up to church, the results might under-impress. Most folks I know feel so overwhelmed with work and family commitments that they simply forget to pray during the day.

Or maybe they don't know how.

I don't mean that people don't know how to utter an honest one-liner to God. Most do but only when times get tough or life throws them a curve ball. I get it, I really do. Life can be hard and the stress is real.

Maybe folks have never been trained in the art and poetry of prayer. My own prayer life really didn't click until I was in my twenties. Now that I'm in my thirties, I feel like I'm only scratching the surface. I can only imagine what God will teach me when I'm older and my body is slowing down.

For the frantic pace of life that most are accustomed to, an hour of prayer a day seems impossible. It probably is. So how can you make sense of it all? How do you carve out some time for prayer in the midst of busy-ness? If the saints are any indication, the secret lies in one's intention and purity of heart.

St. Edmund once said, "It is better to say one Our Father fervently and devoutly than a thousand with no devotion and full of distraction."

For those who have not been trained in prayer nor have an intent to make their prayer life stronger, a subtle flag may be going up. Some of the signs of a frayed spiritual life include:

You feel distant from the Bible and its passages

Praying out loud seems foreign and you rarely do it

You can't remember the last time you wrote in a prayer journal

God feels very, very far away

So what do you do if you can relate to one or more of these signs? First, acknowledge it and get away. Find some quiet time by getting alone with your thoughts. This is a primer of the spiritual pump as quiet space is essential to being more open to prayer.

As Mother Theresa said, "In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you."

Even the most strained spiritual life can be restored with God's miraculous power and grace. No matter how long it's been since you felt good about your prayer life, it's never too late to begin again.

How can you get alone in the next day in order to be more open to God's voice?