Prayer when swarmed with distraction, worries, anxieties
Entry posted by markdohle in personal reflection
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Prayer when swarmed with distraction, worries, anxieties
December 30—Holy Hour. I was entirely occupied in taking in the Christmas rents. “When you come close to Me in thought, see that you put away every little earthly worry so that you can be really all Mine. And if you often repeat this loving effort of your mind, you will gain the habit of living more with your Creator than with any created thing, more with the unseen than the seen. You will get to the point where you use the things of earth and relations with people only for the love of God’s kingdom and for His glory. That, My child, is pure love—never to think of oneself but of God and how best you can please Him. Oh, this loving gesture of a generous heart in a direct ascension!
Bossis, Gabrielle. He and I (Kindle Locations 3639-3645). Pauline Books and Media. Kindle Edition.
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It is a common misconception that unless one is having some powerful experience of God, or some little consolation, then something is wrong when praying. When in fact, the seeming ‘absence’ of God is the norm. Yet, we are called to ‘love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul’. That is done through the simple act of raising one’s heart, and mind to God.
It is true that there are many distractions that seek to get our attention. Worries, fears, anxieties, problems in our everyday life, relationships, and yes, dealing with chronic pain and health problems. It can seem on some days that we are surrounded by a swarm of insects. You swap at one, and another comes diving in. This is just the normal state that we can find ourselves in.
Yet, in this ‘mess’, we still feel the call to prayer. There are good days as well, that we can pray calmly, but it is on the rough road that we grow in our love of God. All one must do is to keep on course, and do what is possible. In other words, you pray as you can, and not as you can’t.
When I am on a rough patch, I have found that having some short prayers that one can say slowly, with intent, is a big help. Sometimes I can’t get halfway through the Our Father before I find myself lost in some thought or another. I have found that the best way for me to deal with it, is to simply start over, calmly, understanding that the fact that I can pray at all is grace. A grace to be patient in times of inner chaos, and yes conflict. It takes time, but as the time passes by quickly, one day it is noticed that while there are swarms of distractions, the prayer becomes more focused. The trust is deeper, and all we need do is to calmly return to the silence, or to our Lectio, or to whatever we were doing at the time. We look at ourselves less, and more towards Christ Jesus, who is the manifestation of Infinite, revealed to us as personal and the source of all love.
All relationships need testing. It is the only way that being ‘overly-concerned’ can be healed and put in its true place. Which is not an important place at all. For grace is always at work, and when we pray, no matter how badly we think we are doing, patient endurance will keep us on target.-BrMD
It is true that there are many distractions that seek to get our attention. Worries, fears, anxieties, problems in our everyday life, relationships, and yes, dealing with chronic pain and health problems. It can seem on some days that we are surrounded by a swarm of insects. You swap at one, and another comes diving in. This is just the normal state that we can find ourselves in.
Yet, in this ‘mess’, we still feel the call to prayer. There are good days as well, that we can pray calmly, but it is on the rough road that we grow in our love of God. All one must do is to keep on course, and do what is possible. In other words, you pray as you can, and not as you can’t.
When I am on a rough patch, I have found that having some short prayers that one can say slowly, with intent, is a big help. Sometimes I can’t get halfway through the Our Father before I find myself lost in some thought or another. I have found that the best way for me to deal with it, is to simply start over, calmly, understanding that the fact that I can pray at all is grace. A grace to be patient in times of inner chaos, and yes conflict. It takes time, but as the time passes by quickly, one day it is noticed that while there are swarms of distractions, the prayer becomes more focused. The trust is deeper, and all we need do is to calmly return to the silence, or to our Lectio, or to whatever we were doing at the time. We look at ourselves less, and more towards Christ Jesus, who is the manifestation of Infinite, revealed to us as personal and the source of all love.
All relationships need testing. It is the only way that being ‘overly-concerned’ can be healed and put in its true place. Which is not an important place at all. For grace is always at work, and when we pray, no matter how badly we think we are doing, patient endurance will keep us on target.-BrMD
Edited by markdohle
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