Personal prayer is the quiet ground where faith becomes personal and real. It is the space where we step out of noise and hurry and allow ourselves to be fully present before God. In that stillness, we speak honestly about our hopes and fears while learning to listen with patience and humility.
In this video, Fr. Mike Higgins, CP, reflects on the steady, shaping power of personal prayer. The time set aside for silence and meditation becomes the place where God is allowed to speak. While his personal prayer may include bringing concerns, asking for help and praying for others, at its heart is something quieter: learning to be still and to listen.
Take a few moments to watch and reflect. May it encourage you to enter that quiet place where listening becomes transformation.
The time I spend in meditation or reflection is essential to my life. St. Paul of the Cross used to spend seven hours in prayer. I do not manage that. On most days, I may have quiet time anywhere from forty five minutes to two hours. But that is the place where I allow God to speak to me.
Part of my prayer is simply saying, “Be quiet, Michael, and listen.” I do bring my concerns to God. I ask for favors. I pray for others. That is good, and I value that part. But the most productive part of prayer is learning to be still and listen. I learn more from that than from anything else.
The lessons are not always dramatic. Sometimes it is just a small insight about this moment, this person, this experience or even this failure. You may hear things you do not want to hear, but they come gently. Even the challenging insights are offered in a way that you can receive them. Disciplining yourself to accept what you hear, even when you would rather ignore it, is important.
I believe personal growth comes from private prayer. It has changed me in many ways at different times in my life. Sometimes it makes me gentler. Sometimes it stirs me up. Sometimes it gives me a new understanding of something happening around me. Other times, it is simply a place to rest. It helps me pay attention to reality as it truly is, not as I wish it to be.
I hope I am more attentive to prayer now than I was twenty years ago. I believe I am. Prayer is where we meet reality, not the version we imagine, but what is truly there and who is truly there. That is where we learn. That is where growth happens.
Shut up and listen…such a novel thought, yet oh, so profound. Thank you Fr. Mike!
Listen .. deep listening. Thank you