With time and practice, your formal prayer becomes the focal point of your day as it draws your mundane activities into a sacred space within your consciousness. So, you will need to do everything possible to separate your prayers from your daily routine. It will be very important for you to be able to release yourself from your day-to-day concerns and problems — and to make certain that none of your daily activities tire or overstimulate you — before entering prayer. You should separate your place and time of prayer from any distractions, creating a special place where you will pray and developing personal practices that mark the transition from daily life into your special time of prayer — perhaps using one of the rituals described in “On Holy Ground” in the resources section.

Once you have made these choices, you will need to be consistent in your prayer. You should will need to prepare yourself before praying and devote 45 to 50 minutes every day to the contemplations. Also, you should spend an additional 10 minutes reviewing those periods involving imaginative prayer as soon afterward as possible (even if you prepare only brief notes) so your later reflections remain fresh and clear. Finally, at the beginning and end of your day, you should set aside 15 minutes for each of the examens (see "Making a Morning Caim”, “An Evening Prayer of Remembrance” and the second part of “Marking the Way” in the resources section). To foster an awareness that all of these activities are special moments with God, you should commit the same times each day to your different prayers — selecting them carefully so you are able to relax and put aside your other concerns in a regular daily rhythm.

The place where you pray may be more flexible than the time, but it remains important that you consecrate a special space for prayer and preserve its distinctive character. You may create a comfortable and contemplative atmosphere in your home by dedicating a specific area — either a room or a portion of a room — as a prayer space, providing a focal point in this place (e.g., a statue, icon or cross with a few candles) and muted lighting that helps quiet both you and it. Or you may decide to pray in an existing prayer room or chapel at a nearby church. You also may choose to alternate between prayer spaces that are inside or outside your home, as long a you remain consistent in using a particular place on a specific day to preserve the rhythm of your prayer.

These preparations will not only enrich your prayer. They will help you develop the habits needed to make prayer an integral part of your daily life, creating a space for intimate conversations with God.

To return to the resources page for Nurturing the Courage of Pilgrims, please click here.