Josemaría Escrivá: Orderand Prayer

You don't know what to say to our Lord in your prayer. You can't think of anything, and yet you would like to consult Him on many things. Look: make some notes during the day of whatever you want to consider in the presence of God. And then take these notes with you to pray...

Don't tell Jesus that you want consolation in prayer. If He gives it to you, thank Him. Tell Him always that you want perseverance... Persevere in prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful."

Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in The Way , reading #80, #81, #97, #100, and #101.

This classic work contains short quotes on a wide variety of topics. Click here to read it online freely.

I hope you like the header photo I shot yesterday at a vineyard in Palisade, Colorado. Our retreat is going well.

Today, Josemaría urges us to bring order into our lives and structure to our prayer time. This speaks of the importance of surrendering every aspect of our lives to God and spending time with Him before engaging in any service with Him.

A great way to do this is to add this prayer to your daily life: "Jesus I surrender myself to you, take care of everything."

It's called the Surrender Novena a daily practice. I spoke about this in a recent reel. Watch it here. It's less than a minute. And click here to follow Generosity Monk on social channels to see other reels like this as they post.

I have found that this discipline brings order to my prayer life, brings peace in a world filled with problems, and it helps me persevere in generous service.

The apostle Paul wanted such order and peace for the Corinthian church and wants it for all followers of Jesus. Add to that Josemaría's suggestion to bring notes to prayer.

Picture yourself going to an important meeting. You do research in advance. You prepare your mind and heart. You bring your notes. You show that you are taking the meeting seriously.

What message does that send to the person with whom you are meeting? Now imagine bringing notes with the same preparedness to your next prayer time. What message would that send to God?

Generous service perseveres when we approach life and prayer with order. And ministries flourish when they have order and rely on the matchless power of prayer.