Personal Prayer Life.

PERSONAL PRAYER LIFE:
Rationalizing the Dry Spells and the Mountain Tops
I don’t know about you but my prayer life is all over the place.
What do I mean by that?
Sometimes, I am plodding onward like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Sometimes, I am elated like the Road Runner, bouncing off the walls in total intimacy with The Lord.
Right now, my soul is totally “in the zone”. . . to coin a phrase.
I feel so deeply connected and when I go into prayer; all is very well with my soul. It is so peaceful, so connected, so blissful. I am totally in awe of God, deeply filled with the Holy Spirit and, this is rather tricky to put into words, for Shakespeare I am not!
I just close my eyes and there I am, my soul present with The Lord. Awesome. Words fail me.
I need to tell you that it is not like this all the time. In fact, it is rather rare that I feel so connected.
I just had to write about this in the moment, trying to capture the depth of prayer, as I feel totally immersed and joined with God. Actually, it is a knowing beyond words. I am completely one with His Presence!
My sense is that I want to stay in this place of prayer and in this state of mind
all the time, at all times, totally there. An all-knowing state.
I know in reality there are brief moments of time when one is so at peace with God. One catches glimpses of the perfection of God’s Kingdom for a while, and then, it’s back to asking, “Where are You God? Oh, there You are.”
It is, indeed, a rare mountain top experience to be so in tune.
A momentary glimpse, a true sense of God’s Holy Presence, that all is truly well.
My prayer would be for longer and more frequent times of pure intimacy with The Lord.
My prayer for you is that this experience, this knowing,
this being “in the zone” is difficult to explain, but entirely available to you.
So I just want to encourage you to keep praying, and to know that every prayer you offer is heard by God. Of this I have no doubt.
Is it the feeling I crave or actually the intimacy with God the Father in knowing His Almighty Presence? Clearly the latter.
I pray that as we all go through dry spells of prayer,
where there is aridity and loneliness for days or weeks or months, we would hear God saying, “Keep going, keep going.” The memory of literally crawling along The Valley of the Shadow of Death comes to mind. The sense of going deeper into the relationship is made manifest.
God says,”I will never leave you or forsake you.”
It seems that each one of us has to come to our own personal understanding of God, And what He is all about. I am writing about my experience with the Lord, hoping to encourage and uplift you to do the same. Ultimately, we, as individuals, make up our own mind if this is real or some cosmic joke. Well, as for me, I know my redeemer lives.
Keep praying, dear soul. Keep praying through and through the dry spells knowing that He is with you in every thought and deed. There will be glimpses of His Glory!
Dame Julian of Norwich said these words in the thirteen hundreds,
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” I would add,
Keep praying and all shall be well.
Persevere in prayer, dear souls.
Be well, do good works, and for the sake of God, love one another.
Fr. Nigel Mumford+

4 thoughts on “Personal Prayer Life.

  1. Ellen says:

    When there is need God is there. When my prayers cannot be put into words God answers. What more does He need to do to prove His love much less His presence.
    Fr Nigel’s reflection on personal prayer came exactly at the time I was in need of an answer to my prayer that I was unable to

    • Ellen says:

      (to continue)
      …. to express in words. God speaks to us through others. I am humbled.
      I have been trapped in pain. I realize the pain is of the flesh. It blocks access to the spirit. It makes prayer difficult or impossible until I realize it is of the flesh. Once I understood this I could feel my prayer break through – break free. The pain that

    • Ellen says:

      (Cont. 2)
      ….. held my prayer from rising above the flesh showed the way to “pierce” through the veil – to enter the Spirit.
      Yes as Fr Nigel wrote some things are very difficult to put into words. Forgive my stumbling attempt.

  2. kathy says:

    Amen..keep praying always!!! As I read this post I envisioned the butterfly…the lowly worm, frail, slow and mortal in its state. Easily “picked” off by that which seeks to devour and destroy it. Yet there is in it a desire to be other than what it is…a new creature and so it chooses to move up a branch{ yes Lord save me!!] The caccoon sways to and fro in the wind, is warm and cold ,wet and dry but inside the”new creature” is forming, being attended to by the Creator, being aware of His presence unlike the shell which he must reside in. I wonder does it have days when it feels bound by its shell as I sometimes feels imprisoned by this flesh which is so contrary to this new spirit in me? But an appointed season comes when this beautiful, fully perfected creature is released and set free from that prison. We will feel as our Savior did feel in this flesh…separated. like visitors in a foreign land set there for a season to speak of our real home and the Lord whom has sent us out and knowing in the wet and cold days as well as the warm and dry our Lord is with us always. And He is a kind Father who as you said Fr. Nigel will allow us glimpses of His glory that we have hope and endurance until that glorious day of His return

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