Some novenas are prayed for nine consecutive weeks and the day of the week when it is prayed depends on the day associated with a devotion to a particular saint. For instance, a weekly novena to St. Joseph is usually done on a Wednesday since this is the day traditionally associated with devotions to him.

Novenas can also be done over nine months and this is usually on the First Friday of each month. There is likewise a novena done for nine consecutive hours only and an example is the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague.

Moreover, there are novenas which are not limited to nine hours, days, weeks or months. Some are prayed for 30 days like the 30-day novena to St. Joseph.

The praying of a novena apparently was derived from the Holy Scriptures. In Acts 1:14, Jesus asked His disciples to pray together in the upper room and so they prayed for nine consecutive days, ending in Pentecost or the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

Instructions on how to pray a novena are simple. One can buy inexpensive novena cards or novena prayer booklets easily. Many novenas are also available online. Some novena prayers are so simple that all you have to do is to say a short prayer and mention your prayer intention at the end.

Other novenas contain long prayers. There is usually an opening prayer and a different prayer for each day or week of the novena. Some novenas also prescribe the praying of the Lords Prayer, Hail Mary and Glory Be a certain number of times.

So everybody can learn how to pray a novena. There are well known novenas such as the novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help and the Sacred Heart Novena. These novenas are known to be efficacious in having ones prayer granted. But whatever novena you intend to pray, pray it from the heart. God sees whats inside our hearts and answers prayers according to His will.