Prayer when life is messy
A particularly messy morning on my bicycle inspired this post. I needed refreshment, despite the condition of my water bottles.
Either literally or figuratively, the inner room of the heart can be in disarray. Life can be a mess. For many of us, this is the more common condition of our hearts, rather than an exception.
How is prayer possible when life is a mess? Romans chapter 8:26-27 holds a key:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Prayer, like every other part of life, is done in faith. We believe that God hears us. In fact, if we believe Romans 8:26 and 27, the Holy Spirit takes over and prays for us, in utterances too deep for words.
I believe messiness is more reason for creating habits of prayer – knitting prayer into the fabric of life.
Praying the Hours is a feature of monastic life where monks pray at set times throughout the day. It may be possible to adapt this practice in your life.
Another practice is the Examen of St. Ignatius. The Examen is a prayerful review of the day past, with an eye to living the next day in the presence of God.
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