It’s easier to research new music gear than to write a song; easier to watch HGTV than to patch the hole behind the bathroom door. And it’s easier to talk about spiritual practices — Lectio Divina, practicing the presence, gratitude journaling, prayer of this or that sort — than to actually do them. It’s easy also to mistake the practices for the Life to which they open us. 

I continued working each morning this week on a little practice. Upon awakening and before arising I whisper, ​“The Lord is here,” and dwell on a few lines from Psalm 23 until my mind quiets and agrees a little more with what is true. Any novelty the practice had in the beginning — the kind one feels during the first few workouts at a new gym — is gone. Now it gets real. 

The challenge for a stubborn person such as myself is to persevere in such a practice without resorting to sheer grit and willpower. The effort God desires though is the kind that leans into rather than hoists up, walks in step with rather than pulls ahead. 

When it comes to prayer, exerting that type of effort requires honesty: ​“Lord, you are here… Even though at this moment I don’t sense you in the least and I’m worn down. I trust you are still my Shepherd, still restoring my soul, still leading me on right paths. If I’m going to be of any use to the world today and bearable to myself, I need your perspective. Open my eyes to where you are at work.” 

On Richard Foster’s list of five misconceptions about prayer, #4 is Prayer is grim duty. ​“Prayer can be hard work,” he writes, ​“but I also think that people need to see prayer as a delight, as joyful interaction with a loving God. …It’s an occupational hazard of religious people to get too serious.” 

So, Father, help us persevere without taking ourselves too seriously!