Prayer. It is a foundational building block for living our life in Christ. But if I am honest, it can also be very challenging. Something that should draw me closer to God so often feels distant or a chore or a checklist item on my to do list. I can also compare myself to others who seem to pray much longer and more spiritual prayers leading me to feel like I am letting God down. How about you? Have you ever experienced struggle in your prayer life?

On this page, I hope to offer some encouragement to you on your journey in this dimension of your life as a disciple of Jesus. I have found it helpful when thinking of prayer to also consider the idea of contemplation. Webster defines contemplation as 1) concentration on spiritual things and 2) an act of considering with attention.  Richard Foster describes the contemplative life as “the steady gaze of the soul upon the God who loves us.” Teresa of Avila describes it as “an intimate sharing between friends.”

If we want to experience a greater prayer life, we must enter a place of contemplation, where we spend time just being with our Heavenly Father. In His presence our souls will more naturally move to prayer to communicate with God. Prayer is our main activity as we rest in the contemplative stream. God provides a way to His heart with prayer as the key and Jesus being the door. Foster describes ass we walk through the door into the Father’s heart we “allow ourselves to be gathered up into the arms of the Father and let him sing his love song over us.” I can’t imagine a greater place to be.