meditate or pray daily

Ergh, I let this lapse for a few days, disappointing. What I’m doing now is doing daily Bible reading according to the schedule in my Book of Common Prayer, and following them up with prayer. This is working well for me (short lapse notwithstanding) because it gives me structure: a schedule to follow and specific things to do each day. It’s been ages since I’ve done any Bible reading, and it’s been enjoyable to be doing it again, especially the Psalms.

I’ve been doing better on this lately. I think that the main reason is that since my boyfriend and I broke up, I have a lot more free/quiet time alone, and less distraction, which helps me to remember to pray. Also, I’ve been tracking this goal on a daily basis, which provides a reminder/motivation to do what I’m supposed to be doing.

I find that to do this properly, I need to do it in the morning. I face the day in a better frame of mind that way. When I put it off to the evening time, I often end up so tired that I drift off to sleep half-way through my prayer-time. (“Dear God, thank you for… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”)

This is something I’ve been working on literally for years, and haven’t managed to achieve yet. I’m doing a little better these days, but not as well as I’d like. I need to be more resolute about taking (or making) the time to do this.

It’s interesting that it’s said that people tend to pray when they are in tough situations or facing trouble. Those are exactly the times when I let my praying lapse. I think it’s partly because when I’m so agitated about whatever’s going on in my life, I find it difficult to find the focus and calmness to sit down and pray/meditate. It’s so much easier for me to pray when things are going well. That’s kinda weird, eh?