Audio of this morning's interview on personal prayer

It was great to start the day speaking with John Morales about personal prayer, based on my latest article, For Whom Should We Pray? Part 2. You can catch the recording of that conversation here, with my part starting at 7:50.

One thing we discussed a few times was “orientation” to entering prayer. The advice is the same probably no matter who you ask: creating a space conducive to prayer - with quiet, candles, devotionals, sacred images, a comfortable chair, and so on - is an important first step to having productive prayer time.

Afterwards, I was thinking about something else, which is that we focus on the in-the-moment prayer prep, but in reality, the way you spend your time outside of prayer will also make a difference.

For example, we are surrounded by noise on a constant basis. I don’t mean literal noise, either, though that is a main culprit. The mental noise of doomscrolling; the noise of the short attention span caused by constantly checking notifications; the noise of busy-ness. We have become afraid of silence, probably because it means we must look at ourselves and that is uncomfortable. But giving up the crutch of noise will be a game changer in your life.

So, reducing your screen time - phone, social media, computer, TV, mindless TV, grating music - and centering more silence in your life will benefit you from a daily peace-of-mind perspective, but also when it comes time to sit down and listen. No need to make it harder than it already is, by filling your mind and soul with noise that blocks out the voice of God.

Cardinal Sarah has a whole book about this: The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. I do recommend it.

So yes, make your immediate prayer space quiet. But also cultivate quietness in other parts of your life so that there is nothing in the way of your ability to be present with God.

I’ll be back on Morning Air in a couple weeks to talk about For Whom Should I Pray? Part 1, about the necessity of praying for the world! The world needs your prayers. You are the body of Christ, doing his work in this world.