The document discusses establishing rituals and habits for prayer. It addresses finding time, place, and space for prayer and avoiding excuses for not praying. The author recalls a key question from God about what is desired from the relationship with Him. Establishing consistent daily rituals like praying in the same place and positions can help make prayer a regular discipline.

2. Chapter 1
Time
Place
Space
The Nuts
and Bolts
of How
to Begin
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Chapter 1

3. Time, Place, and Space
Prayer is a discipline and an art, before
getting into the why, the what, and the
how of contemplative prayer, it is
necessary to discuss how often, the with,
what and the where.
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4. Time, Place, and Space
The authors speaks of “Does It Count?”
rationalizing for not finding his own time,
place and space to pray (e.g. The priest’s
homily was double in length so that was
more than enough prayer for the day).
What other common excuses do we
make for not taking and taking
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time to pray?
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5. Time, Place, and Space
A key question the author experienced from
God prayer was – “What is it that you desire?”
God really wants us to do what we desire
when it comes to genuinely seeking Him.
God promises to be with us always –
even if we never turn our face
toward him again.
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6. Time, Place, and Space
“It was as though God had to free me before
I could freely give back to God.”
Can we do things to help free ourselves
to move into a place where this can
more likely occur?
Journal:
What little promise or vow can I make
to God to fulfill a desire to draw
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near to Him?
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7. Time, Place, and Space
• We must choose both a prayer life and
be prayerful.
• God will love me regardless of whether
or not I pray in this or that particular
way.
• God does not desire me to feel obligated
to spend time with him.
– Am I doing it because I feel called or
relucantly because I feel I should?
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8. Time, Place, and Space
If I choose to give it a try, I must give it my best
shot. I must commit myself to pray ever day.
Don’t just try it out for a brief stint,
quit the silly games, jump in
with both feet!
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9. The Value of Ritual
• Humans are creatures of ritual
• Ritual “sacramentalizes” the concrete
world
• It creates a “bridge” between the
transcendent and the ordinary
(e.g. a couple’s sacred love and a drive
to the grocery story)
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10. The Value of Ritual
Suggestions (not rules!) for establishing
rituals for one’s prayer life:
• Pray in the same place and position
every day
• Pray at the same time every day
• Begin and end prayer in the same way
every day.
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11. Memorize this line:
To reach for God
is to reach God
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