Dryness In Prayer

I know, I know...I've been away for a while. Not a good thing for a blogger to do, I guess... but the reality is that taking in two fost / adopt children, and dealing with all the changes has been more important than this blog. The kids have been with us for twelve weeks now, and things are finally starting to feel 'normal' again.

Getting caught up in the day to day affairs of raising children has not been my only reason for staying away from this blog. For a while I had entered a period of spiritual dryness - a period that was void of prayer and devotions. It was like I lost my prayer 'voice.'

I have found this whole dryness thing quite interesting, especially giving the fact that for months I had been earnestly trying to do God's will in all things (like adopting these two children.) The question I've been asking myself is: How can something that's seemingly pleasing to our Lord completely deplete me - leaving me arid?

As I grapple with this question, I look to a few internet resources regarding dryness in prayer:


The Gift of Dryness in Prayer - by Mother Angelica

Every Christian who strives for holiness of life experiences dryness of soul. It is to most people a heart-rending experience. It is a paradox, for the soul becomes confused when it realizes the harder it strives the further away Jesus seems to be. Read More

The Prayer of Futility - by Fr. Humbert Van Zeller, O.S.B.

The great complaint with most people about their prayer is that they never feel they're getting anywhere. But of course it would be a very bad sign if they did. A lot of the trouble about prayer would disappear if we only realized - really realized, and not just supposed that it was so - that we go to pray not because we love prayer but because we love God. Read More

Spiritual Dryness - From the blog Castle of the Immaculate

... When we first discover the Lord and His Church we are often like romantics who feel great delight in anything pertaining to our new found love. Zeal, energy, enthusiasm stream from us, easily. There's nothing that we won't promise, nothing we won't attempt to do. But, then, after time, the glow wears off. Then comes the time of real sanctification, of real love. Read More

"The first requirement for prayer is silence. People of prayer are people of silence." Mother Teresa

"...Prayer does not demand that we interrupt our work, but that we continue working as if it were a prayer." Mother Teresa

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