prayer

"Sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning- day after day, week after week, and month after month, in total confusion and with a myriad of distractions- radically changes my life."  

- Henri Nouwen

"Much of the benefit of prayer comes as a result of consistency, the simple act of showing up.  For years I resisted a regular routine of prayer, believing that communication with God should be spontaneous and free.  As a result I prayed infrequently and with little satisfaction.  Eventually I learned that spontaneity often flows from discipline."

- Philip Yancey 

I have come to realize in my life that for me to make a habit of something, I need to intentionally carve out a time and place in my daily routine.  Otherwise, it just doesn't happen or it doesn't happen very consistently.  This has been especially true in having a daily prayer time.  So, for the last few weeks, the carved out space for a daily prayer time is my walk from the 1 train to my school- about a 20 minute walk.   To be honest, many times after my walk, I feel like nothing was gained- my prayers were jumbled and incoherent, I didn't hear from God, my mind was distracted.  But I keep doing it everyday- in hope that over time, my soul will gradually "settle down to a more calming rhythm" and God would use this time to radically change my life.