This voice is an intelligence who knows my inner life and parades my faults before my face in my waking moments, a time when I am most vulnerable. I have just awoke from a peaceful sleep, so I know it's not my voice and God doesn't speak like that. It is the devil, the accuser of the brethren. He often mentions sins that God has already forgiven or some flaw in my character.
If I lie there, the attack continues. If I am foolish enough to accept his words and fall back to sleep, I allow them into my soul and they affect my day and my perception of self.
Here's what I do: Get out of bed, wrap myself in a blanket, making a hood like a monk's. I light a candle and sit on a low stool next to my window. The sill is low enough to serve as an armrest. This is my secret place, an alcove in my bedroom. I pick up my weapon.
The rosary begins with the Apostles Creed and the Our Father. Also said are the Hail Mary, Glory be and a Mystery is recited before each decade of ten Hail Marys. These prayers are not vain repetitions, but are prayers of the Gospel, and not unlike Psalm 136 in form. I find as I recite these well known prayers, that a second channel opens up for me to offer thanksgiving, praise, and requests to heaven. People and concerns are brought to the throne of grace during the recitation of the rosary prayers. I know of no other activity in which I can concentrate upon two things simultaneously. The devil is locked out and flees. The morning and the day are given to God.You don't have to be Catholic to pray the rosary. It may be awkward at first, but soon your rosary will become a vital part of your prayer life. You can buy a plastic glow-in-the-dark one like mine at a Catholic bookstore for less than a dollar. If you want to know more about the rosary and how to pray the rosary, this link will help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL5Izv6_RLo
