Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving...(Colossians 4:2)
by Fr. Roy Joseph, S.J.
In my encounters with the faithful, everyone seems to express a longing for a better relationship with God. Most of them have some kind of difficulty with prayer. Finding time to pray or making prayer time meaningful are common struggles.
St. Ignatius writes of the necessity to prepare for prayer, much like when meeting family and friends. That does not mean doing many things beforehand but more being alert and intentional (or watchful as St. Paul says) about the time spent with the other. We know that God as the other has been good to us in the past, and so we do our best to enter prayer intentionally grateful, even if we do not feel that goodness at that moment. When we do so persistently, it stretches our hearts to make them more capable of loving God... and helps fulfill our deep longing.
