Do You Enjoy Your Time with God?

The other day I raised a question to someone who was struggling to make prayer a priority in their life: Do you enjoy your time with God? 

I’m convinced that you will never make time for prayer consistently if you don’t enjoy being with God.

For me, that’s been an evolution over the last several years. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen with persistence and perseverance in the spiritual life, and above all, God’s grace. I’ve learned how to connect with God in ways that are interesting, exciting, and personally meaningful for me -- expanding beyond the formal prayers of the Church. 

It’s been a growing understanding that God wants us to experience Him in Catholic liturgy and prayers, but He also wants us to experience Him in the unique ways He’s given each of us according to our interests, passions, and state in life. Chances are, He wants to connect with you in the things you love to do because He made you to love those things purposefully.

When I speak of my own prayer life to others, I often say that I look forward to prayer because I’ve found that there’s a gift for me awaiting in every prayer experience. Sometimes it’s a feeling of love, joy, and peace. Other times it’s a challenge or a thought provoking question. Often it’s a new insight that continues to help me grow in my faith and knowledge of God. The greatest gift, however, is just spending time with God, the One I love. 

Make consistent time for prayer. You won’t regret it, because God wants to give you a gift each time -- a gift unique to you.