The Prayer Thread is a collection of teachings and practical prompts to help as we learn to pray in community. This text was originally delivered on December 22, 2021 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
Once we’ve made a serious commitment to the spiritual life, many of us find that we carry very specific ideas of what it means to be a good pray-er. “30 minutes of sacred reading every night before bed”, “two sits twice a day for 20 minutes”, “daily mass Monday-Friday”… the list never ends. Then, when we are confronted by not actually doing our “good” prayers, when life or circumstance trips up our ideal rhythm, we are often left with a sense of inadequacy, disappointment, even failure. The weight of perfection might even tempt us to stop praying all together!
As a spiritual director, when I listen to others struggle with consistency in prayer, I don’t listen for how many days a week, or how long each session is. What I listen for is desire. Even when there is a blip in the regular rhythm, or a long period of dryness, if the desire for prayer remains, it is enough. Through the ups & downs and all the unknowns, the desire for prayer reflects that God is still at-work, that the relationship with the Holy One is still alive, and that assurance, is more than enough.
