I’ve tried and failed at every kind of prayer technique the Church teaches. I’m inspired by Brother Lawrences’s simple “Practicing the Presence of God.” And I’m in awe of people who have the discipline to pray the Divine Office without fail.
I used to assume these two prayer techniques were mutually exclusive, as if they were spiritual gifts given to “Type A” and “Type B” personalities.
While reading some of St. Teresa of Avila’s writings on prayer, I discovered something that validated a recent experience I had. St. Teresa outlines a specific technique for developing a mediative and contemplative prayer life (she considers meditation and contemplation to be two different things). So for years I categorized her as a disciplined prayer warrior . . .which she was.
But she makes one powerful point that I some how missed until a couple weeks ago. She says that one of the keys to developing a meditative or contemplative prayer life is preparing yourself to pray. As I read over her thoughts more closely I discovered that what she means by preparing yourself to pray is very similar to Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God. In fact, she says that if you don’t prepare yourself to pray during during your regular daily schedule then you won’t be able to pray when it is time to meditate. And the opposite is true too. That if we don’t set aside specific times of prayer then we will be unable to experience what Brother Lawrence calls the Presence of God in our daily lives.
They aren’t mutually exclusive, but completely dependent on each other.
After my most recent failure to pray like Brother Lawrence, I tried to pray the Divine Office. But I didn’t feel like the Divine Office alone would get me close enough to “praying at all times” so I threw in couple rosaries and a few other traditional prayers. My prayer schedule was so intense that I didn’t really have time to do anything but work and pray (sound familiar?), and somewhere in the middle of all that extra business I found myself being constantly aware of God’s presence. I’m not sure I experience the kind of Presence of God Brother Lawrence felt, but I couldn’t do anything without thinking about my next round of prayers. I don’t know that I’ve ever enjoyed praying so much in my entire life.
So what happened? Well, you know, I got lazy and the whole thing fell apart. . .again.
