When I have trouble “hearing” God’s direction, a prayer of Thomas Merton (one of my pilgrims) always helps:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Although I’ve read several books about praying techniques, I rarely have found a post as good as How to Pray for Healing .  His  “Today is the day to respond” gives 10 steps to using prayer.  It includes helping people stuck in difficult situations, how to get more power in prayer, how to get practice, and what to do when you’re healed. The author, Mark Dahle, also gives 10 reasons to pray for healing.

Some of the Dahle’s suggestions are: (1) pray at every opportunity, (2) ask for permission to touch people’s heads or shoulders ( I prefer to rub the upper middle back as this is a place where tension may be), (3) focus on God before you begin, (4) be open to intuitions from God, (5) watch for visual cues, (6) speak directly to the condition and tell it what to do, (7) have confidence even if nothing seems to happen, and (8) practice the steps that feel uncomfortable—you’ll improve.

Some more help with how to pray:

1.  How to pray from wikihow

2.  How to pray: Forgiveness is your path to miracles

3.  How to pray Bible study

4. How to pray when you are depressed

5.  How to pray to God-What does the Bible say?

6.  How to pray: Prayers that get answered

7.  How to pray so that God will hear

8.  How to pray effectively

9.  How to pray: A Catholic guide to the interior life

10.  How to pray with power