Time for God

1. Mental Prayer is a Grace, Not a Technique

St. Jane Frances de Chantal used to say, “The best method of prayer is not to have one, because prayer is not obtained by artifice”—by technique, we would say today—“but by grace.”

Divine gift. True contemplative prayer is fundamentally a gift from God, not a skill acquired through human effort or a set of procedures like Christian yoga. This crucial distinction means that progress in prayer isn't about mastering techniques, but about learning how to receive God's free gift. It liberates us from the misconception that only certain "gifted" individuals can pray deeply; the call to union with God is universal.

Beyond human effort. Our modern mindset often seeks to reduce everything, including spiritual life, to a manipulable technique. However, Christian prayer stands apart because its entire edifice is built upon God's initiative and grace. While human effort has a place in preparing the heart, the ultimate transformation and deepening of prayer come from God's free self-giving.

Focus on disposition. Since prayer is a grace, discussions about it should center not on methods, but on the necessary inner attitudes and dispositions of the heart required to receive this gift. Our primary task is to cultivate these dispositions, such as faith, trust, and humility, allowing God to do the rest. This shifts the focus from our performance to God's boundless mercy and action within us.

2. Faith and Trust are the Bedrock of Prayer

Regardless of what we may or may not feel, the preparation we have or haven’t made, how good we are or aren’t at stringing beautiful thoughts together—regardless of our whole inner state—God is there, with us, looking at us and loving us.

Believe in His presence. The most fundamental disposition for mental prayer is an attitude of unwavering faith. This means believing with our whole heart that God is present with us, actively looking at us and loving us, even when we feel nothing or perceive His absence. His presence is not contingent on our feelings or merits, but on His promise to be with those who seek Him.

Universal call. We must firmly believe that everyone, regardless of their wisdom, ignorance, righteousness, or brokenness, is called to an authentic life of prayer and union with God. Since God calls us, He will provide all the necessary graces to persevere and transform our prayer into a profound experience of communion. Doubting this universal call is contrary to the Gospel.

Trust in fruitfulness. Have absolute faith in the infinite riches that flow from a life of prayer. It transforms, sanctifies, heals, and deepens our love for God and neighbor. Even when prayer feels sterile or results are unseen, we must not be discouraged. God will fulfill His promise: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

3. Fidelity and Perseverance are Paramount

What matters is not whether our mental prayer is beautiful, or whether it works, or whether it is enriched by deep thoughts and feelings, but whether it is persevering and faithful.

Consistency over quality. The primary aim in prayer should be fidelity, not the perceived quality or emotional richness of the experience. A short, poor, arid, or distracted prayer, offered faithfully every day, is infinitely more fruitful for spiritual progress than occasional, ardent, or lengthy sessions. This consistent commitment is the first battle to win.

Devil's opposition. The devil actively seeks to prevent our fidelity to mental prayer, knowing that a person committed to it is ultimately beyond his grasp. He will employ various tactics to discourage us, making perseverance a constant struggle. Recognizing this spiritual warfare strengthens our resolve to remain faithful, come what may.

Love demands fidelity. Mental prayer is fundamentally an exercise in loving God, and true love is inseparable from fidelity. Just as we keep appointments with loved ones, we must honor our commitment to spend time with God. This unwavering faithfulness is the narrow gate that opens the Kingdom of Heaven, leading to true happiness and living water.

4. Purity of Intention and Humility Transform Prayer

St. Teresa of Avila says “the whole edifice of prayer is founded upon humility”—on the conviction that of ourselves we can do nothing, and it is God, and he alone, who can produce good in our souls.

Pray to please God. Purity of intention means praying not for self-fulfillment or satisfaction, but solely to please God. Those who seek personal gratification will quickly abandon prayer when it becomes difficult or dry. Genuine love seeks the joy of the beloved, making disinterested devotion the bedrock of perseverance.

Embrace poverty. Humility is the peaceful acceptance of our radical poverty, leading us to place all trust in God. Mental prayer inevitably exposes our weaknesses, distractions, and faults, which can be uncomfortable. However, joyfully accepting this nakedness and nothingness is the source of all spiritual riches, as "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

Trust in purification. We are not expected to achieve perfect purity of intention or freedom from sin at the outset. Instead, we are called to aspire to it and trust God to purify us through trials and aridity. Discouragement, often a subtle form of pride, is the greatest enemy. True humility and trust always go hand-in-hand, allowing God to work wonders in our souls.

5. Dedicated Time for Prayer is Non-Negotiable

Without mental prayer we cannot receive all the help from God that we need to be transformed and sanctified in depth.

Essential for holiness. All saints attest that there is no spiritual progress or deep holiness without contemplative prayer. Even powerful conversion experiences or frequent reception of sacraments will have limited effect if not rooted in a consistent prayer life. Without it, our Christian life will plateau, lacking the profound purification and inner peace that only intimate communion with God can provide.

Prioritize God. The common excuse "I don't have time" often masks a deeper issue of misplaced priorities. We always find time for what truly matters to us. Just as we find time to eat, we must make time for God. Giving a quarter of an hour to prayer, for instance, will be returned a hundredfold in the quality and fruitfulness of our remaining time.

Time given, not stolen. Time dedicated to God is never stolen from others; on the contrary, it enhances our capacity to love and be present to them. Prayer makes us better people—more attentive, delicate, disinterested, and compassionate. As St. John of the Cross noted, one act of pure love in prayer benefits the Church more than a thousand external works done without it.

6. God's Action and Love Take Primacy in Prayer

In prayer, what counts is not to think a lot but to love a lot.

God's work within. The most crucial aspect of mental prayer is not what we actively do, but what God accomplishes within us. Even if we feel we are doing nothing, God is constantly active in the depths of our soul. Our essential task is simply to place ourselves in His presence and remain there, allowing His life-giving, healing, and sanctifying presence to work.

Love is king. When thoughts, feelings, or meditations fail, love remains. We can always offer our poverty to the Lord in peaceful trust, making a magnificent prayer. Our first act of love is to let ourselves be loved by God, believing in His unconditional affection for us, just as we are. This foundational reception of His love prevents our relationship with Him from being distorted by self-centeredness.

Aim for simplicity. True prayer tends towards simplicity, ultimately becoming a single, simple act of love beyond words and thoughts. While initial prayer may involve reflections and considerations, the goal is to move towards a state where the heart is simply present to God. The value of prayer is not measured by the quantity of our thoughts, but by its proximity to this pure, simple act of love.

7. Encounter God Through Jesus' Humanity and Within Your Heart

The humanity of Jesus is the primordial sacrament through which the Divinity makes itself accessible to human beings.

Jesus, the mediator. To commune with God, we must approach Him through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the only mediator. His visible, physical humanity is God's condescension, allowing us to reach divine realities in a human way. Contemplating His life, words, and actions, from conception to ascension, brings us into profound communion with the unfathomable mystery of God.

Living mysteries. The mysteries of Jesus' life, though historically past, remain living and life-giving realities for those who contemplate them in faith. They are present in their virtue and the love with which they were accomplished. This means we can engage with them not as distant events, but as active sources of grace, allowing us to harvest present and eternal fruits.

God within. Beyond external forms of God's presence (creation, Eucharist, Word), there is His profound dwelling within our own hearts. By faith, we know God resides in our deepest being. Mental prayer invites us to enter this "tiny palace of the soul," this "inner cell," to meet Jesus who is "more intimate to us than we ourselves." This inward journey, though initially revealing our wretchedness, ultimately leads to the purest living water.

8. Prayer Evolves from Mind to Heart

The new stage is a kind of prayer in which God’s action gradually predominates, while the soul lets itself be acted upon rather than acting, keeping itself in an attitude of simplicity, abandonment, and loving, peaceful attention toward God.

From active to passive. The spiritual journey often involves a fundamental transformation where prayer shifts from being primarily "active" (meditation, reasoning, vocal repetition) to more "passive." This transition, a special gift from God, is marked by an inability to engage the mind as before, often accompanied by a sense of dryness.

Embrace the dryness. When meditation becomes difficult or impossible, and one feels inclined to simply remain in God's presence without doing or thinking anything special, this is often a sign that the Holy Spirit is leading to a deeper, more passive form of prayer. This "impoverishment" is, in fact, a profound enrichment, as it allows God to act more deeply within the soul.

Beyond concepts. God is infinitely beyond every image, concept, or feeling. While active prayer can be good, true union with God in His essence occurs through faith enlivened by love, which requires a detachment from sensory images and intellectual enjoyment. In this simpler, deeper prayer, God communicates Himself secretly and substantially, even if imperceptibly, through a "secret, peaceful, loving infusion."

9. The "Wound of Love" Deepens Prayer

Only through such a wound can prayer truly descend into the heart and lodge there.

Pierced by love. For prayer to truly descend into the heart and become a deep, intimate communion, the heart must be "pierced" by God's love, wounded by a profound thirst for the Beloved. This wound, whether expressed as desire, repentance, or agony at His absence, signifies that God has touched us so deeply that we cannot live without Him.

God's paradoxical healing. While we seek healing from our faults and bitterness, God often seeks to "wound" us even more deeply with His love. This paradoxical wounding is His method for our true cure, making us poorer in spirit but bringing us into deeper communion with Him. It ensures our constant reliance on Him, binding us by our wretchedness as much as by our virtues.

Keep the wound open. Mental prayer ultimately involves keeping this wound of love open, preventing it from healing over through routine or laziness. When fervor wanes, we must actively stir up our hearts with good thoughts and resolutions, straining to draw water until God sends rain. When love flows, we simply surrender to its outpouring, allowing the heart to remain awake and attentive to God's presence.

10. Prayer Integrates You into the Church's Heart

One act of pure love profits the Church more than all the good works in the world.

Unseen connection. There is a profound, often unseen, link between intimate personal prayer and the life and mission of the Church. Contemplation does not isolate but integrates the soul more fully into the mystery of the Church and the Communion of Saints. This connection is rooted in love, as the love uniting God and the soul is the same love that constitutes the deepest reality of the Church.

Love for the Church. Saints like Teresa of Avila and Thérèse of Lisieux exemplify this truth. Teresa founded her Carmels to respond to the Church's needs, deeply moved by the Protestant Reformation and the vast number of pagans. Thérèse, though cloistered, became the patron saint of missions, realizing her vocation was to be "love in the heart of the Church," believing that pure love in prayer lifts the world.

Sharing Christ's heart. In mental prayer, God communicates His desire for all to be saved, causing our hearts to identify with Jesus' Heart. We begin to share His love for His Spouse, the Church, and His thirst for all humanity. This identification with Christ, fostered through prayer, is the only true way to understand the Church's identity as the Bride of Christ.

11. Practicalities Support, Not Define, Prayer

Basically one can practice mental prayer any time, anywhere, and in a wide variety of physical attitudes, in the holy freedom of God’s children.

Flexible approach. While mental prayer can be practiced anywhere and in various physical attitudes, it's beneficial to establish certain external conditions that support recollection and attention. These practicalities are aids, not rigid rules, and should be adapted to individual circumstances, health, and spiritual state.

Time and place. It's advisable to choose a time when the mind is fresh and interruptions are minimal, such as after the Eucharist. Mental prayer should become a daily habit, a vital rhythm like breathing, with a minimum duration of at least fifteen minutes, ideally an hour. Creating a dedicated prayer corner or using a chapel can also foster a conducive environment.

Body and spirit. The physical posture should be comfortable enough to allow stillness and easy breathing, yet not so relaxed as to induce laziness. Using the body ("brother donkey") through kneeling, prostration, or holding rosary beads can aid focus when the mind struggles. These external aids serve the spirit, helping us return to God's presence when prayer becomes difficult.

12. Embrace Difficulties as Pathways to Deeper Grace

Not only are they inevitable, they are actually good for us. They purify our love for God and strengthen our faith.

Inevitable and beneficial. Difficulties in prayer, such as dryness, distaste, or distractions, are not signs of failure but are normal, inevitable, and ultimately beneficial. They serve to purify our love for God, strengthen our faith, and are part of God's teaching method to sanctify us. They should be received as graces, not causes for worry or discouragement.

Distractions are normal. Distractions are among the most common challenges. When thoughts wander, the response should be gentle and peaceful, simply bringing the mind back to God. A prayer session consisting solely of this struggle to return to the Lord is still deeply pleasing to God, who values goodwill over perfect concentration.

Love over concentration. It's impossible to completely control the mind's activity. In deeper, more passive prayer, thoughts may still wander, but they do not prevent the heart's union with God. The proper response to distractions is not increased mental concentration, but a more intense act of love from the heart. Perseverance through these trials leads to greater inner freedom and deeper communion.

Last updated: August 18, 2025