Personal Prayer

Lent is upon us.

Around this time, you will probably hear homilies on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But today, we’re going to zoom in on prayer- particularly personal prayer.

Before we get into this, I want to make a point. It’s now Lent, so I feel justified in being a little somber with you all. The most important thing you can do for your prayer life is making time for it. For me, that means getting up early. At a conference last summer, Fr. Leo (from Grace Before Meals ) told a large group of teens that “prayer is work.” In my life,  prayer can be something I desire, but at times it really does feel like work. Sometimes it really should. It isn’t always easy, but without making time for prayer, the points listed below are pretty much useless.

So, do you want to get your personal prayer game going strong? Here are some tips to jumpstart the Lenten season!

Start with Scripture

It is easy to let Bible-reading fall onto the back burner, but Scripture is a large part of revelation. If you find yourself overwhelmed with where to start in your prayer life, or you just haven’t really sat down with the Bible for a long time, start with Scripture! God never stops working through his Word. We don’t always need the fancy devotionals or prayer apps. Starting simple is often the best way to go. Among many things,  God uses Scripture to comfort, strengthen, and convict us. Here’s a tip: While reading the Bible and meditating on it, pay attention to how you are approaching the lesson. If you find yourself thinking about how a passage applies to someone else (maybe how a certain person in your life is “such a Pharisee”), catch yourself. No matter how much it seems to apply to someone else in your life, try your hardest to find how it applies to you. Meditate on this. Not on somebody else’s issues, but on what the Lord is placing on your heart.

Use Your Imagination

God gave us our imaginations to glorify Him. Like our hearts and our wills, our imagination can also help us grow in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Lectio Divina is a form of Scripture reflection that helps us envision passages of the Bible and enrich our prayer.  If you’ve never prayed using Lectio Dvina, this Lent is a good time to try it out.

I want to share with you an example of how our imaginations if directed toward Jesus, can spur us on and help us see things from a new perspective.

A woman told me once that she imagined Jesus as a young boy throwing a birthday party. She came upon him, sitting on a step, upset because no one came to the party he had prepared so carefully. This scene stirred in her heart a desire to comfort Jesus. Isn’t that beautiful? Our imaginations can truly help us see things differently and cultivate our spiritual lives.

If You’re Coasting, You’re Doing It Wrong

This is the story of my life. So often I get into a routine of being comfortable with my spiritual life, and not making an effort to learn more about Jesus, to dive into the resources around me. TIP: This Lent, if you find yourself becoming complacent, make an effort to change up your prayer life. I know I said that we don’t always need fancy devotionals, and that is true, but if you need a change and you find them helpful, then you should go for it! Maybe start reading the works of a saint in addition to your normal prayer routine. Or even tone the reading down and focus more on really talking with God if that is what you need, which brings us to our next point.

It’s a Conversation, Don’t Forget!

So often I forget this, but someone reminded me in a talk recently that prayer time isn’t just a time to think. Often, I sit in adoration and let my thoughts wander to everything I have to do or to the various people in my life. Then I look at the clock, say a quick little prayer in conclusion, and call it a day.

What. Just. Happened.

I brought everything with me into adoration: all my problems, stress, and the most random observations. I spent more time just talking to myself than talking to God. Strangely enough, I have the most fruitful time when I leave my stress outside the little bubble of my prayer time, and offer my day as a blank page to the Lord. Then, at the end, after I have been refreshed and renewed, it is helpful to ask for His grace in those pressing matters.

Nothing Else Exists

That brings us to our last point. Anne Costa, in her book Embracing Edith Stein, quotes Edith saying, “‘Heaven evidently has a sense of economy…. It all depends on having a quiet little corner where you can talk with God on a daily basis as if nothing else existed…’” (p.13). Upon reading this, things began to change for me. By implementing the strategy in the previous point of removing myself from any stress or worries before prayer, I started to blissfully lose myself in my prayer time. Then, once I came away from being lost in that beauty and peace, I became content and ready for the day.

I hope these tips are good food for thought as you push on in your personal relationship with Jesus as you live out this beautiful liturgical season. Thank you for reading! Have a blessed Lent!

Note: If you want to check out that book on Edith Stein, here’s the information-

Costa, Anne. Embracing Edith Stein: Wisdom for Women from St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Servant Books, 2014.