Having a regular, thriving prayer life with God has been something I’ve valued ever since I can remember.  From growing up in the Korean American church, where we learned how to have ”Quiet Times”, to my days in campus ministry where we valued “abiding in the vine”, I knew that praying and communicating with God was essential to spiritual growth.  When I was on staff, I’d pray 1-2 hours each day, worshipping on my guitar, interceding, going deep with my issues, listening to God and studying the Word.

Well, the whole idea of maintaining a prayer life became a challenge when I began to work.  Praying for an hour or two in the morning was no longer an option – I could barely get myself out of bed.  I found it difficult to set aside time to pray.  Or I felt pressure to replicate what I used to have and knew I couldn’t do that so I wouldn’t even make an attempt and avoid it altogether. 

Besides the practical issues, I also struggled to know what to pray about, or how to pray.  I was perplexed by how desperately I had relied on my times with God before, only to feel very little of that same need.  Upon reflection, I came to see how much my prayer life with God, and even my spiritual life had been stimulated by the ministry.  The ministry pressed issues to the surface, caused a desperation to see God move and work in and around me, and gave me the basis for my intercession.  When that was removed, I felt at a loss for how to pray and what to pray about.

I think what God is doing now, is creating in me an inner core from which my spiritual life and prayers flows.  Rather than being pressed from the outside, He’s put me in a process where that desperation, pursuit of healing and a desire to see God move comes from within me. 

It has been difficult but freeing to create new patterns and rhythms of prayer that fit my life and season in the now.  I have enjoyed experimenting with new styles to see what works and what doesn’t – praying on the train, praying during lunch, going to mass at lunch, journaling, reading, meditating, practicing the spiritual disciplines.

I have come to treasure the 13 minute ride I have on the Gold Line.  Most times I just sit there and zone out.  But there are those good days when I’ll make my attempts at connecting with God – read a few verses from my Bible (been going through Proverbs), listen to some worship songs on my ipod or throw out a few silent prayers.  The mornings rides are a better bet than the ride home.

The latest gem I’ve discovered is liturgical prayer.  I’ve been using a book called The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle.  It’s a book of prayers with Psalms, Bible passages and prayers interlaced.  Each day has three sets of prayers: The Morning Office, The Midday Office, The Vespers Office.  So for me, I’ve been doing the 1st one on the commute to work, the 2nd at lunch, and the 3rd on the ride home.  It has rocked.

Here are some other books/resources that have helped me lately:

• The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence – a slim book with easy-to-read, short chapters; very powerful
• Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us, by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun – a directory of spiritual disciplines.  She lays out great explanations for the core of the spiritual disciplines, not just do this and that.

What do you do to continue to develop your relationship with God in the midst of work and life?