Do You Prepare for Prayer?

Each Monday morning, a faculty prayer service ushered in the week at the Catholic school where I once taught. Teachers gathered in the library, and the principal led us in much-needed prayer for our ministry as educators. This weekly ritual sparked a question in my mind that later yielded a greater understanding of Christian prayer.

A Confusing Statement

To begin our prayer session, the principal always said, “Let us place ourselves in God’s presence.” She did not elaborate on that point, but only waited a moment and then went on with the prayer for the day. I found the concept of placing oneself in God’s presence to be confusing, and perhaps superfluous. Was not God omnipresent? Therefore, were we not always in His presence? Why place myself where I already am?

I rarely pondered the concept at length, since to do so would be to distract myself from the rest of the weekly prayer. However, I must admit, now to my chagrin, that I felt a bit smug, thinking I had caught a flaw in the principal’s philosophy of prayer. Pride, even spiritual pride, goeth before a fall.

In time I was surprised to find the phrase “place yourself in God’s presence” outside of our faculty prayer circle. I don’t remember whether it was in my spiritual reading or in a homily or on EWTN. I only know that I repeatedly read or heard this as an introduction to prayer from sources that I trusted to be theologically sound. I realized that I must have missed something.

Advice from Francis de Sales

Finally, I found the advice to put ourselves in God’s presence in Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life. De Sales offers ten meditations on the decision to live a life of holiness. Each meditation begins with “Place yourself in the presence of God,” as a preparation for prayer.

The idea of preparing to pray was in itself novel. I had considered the sign of the cross sufficient preparation. Yet St. Francis proposes a set of meaningful meditations to bring the Christian’s heart and mind to a disposition suitable for conversing with God.

Four Strategies

The first of four means offered by St. Francis de Sales of placing ourselves in God’s presence is “a keen and attentive realizing of God’s omnipresence” (De Sales, II, 2). This is along the same lines as my thought during our faculty prayers as a young teacher. God is everywhere; there is no place in this world where He is not. Why we need to “place ourselves in His presence” comes to light in the next of Francis’ counsels.

The second means of placing ourselves in God’s presence is to realize that God is with us, intimately, within our heart. Not merely an outside observer, God animates our spirit. King David refers to God as “God of my heart” (Ps 72). St. Paul asserts that “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17). Placing ourselves in God’s presence, then, is a matter of realizing His presence not only around us but within us.

Imagine a marriage in which one spouse is distracted, perhaps overworked or preoccupied with life’s cares. The other closely watches the troubled spouse, and ardently wishes to have a meaningful conversation. But the first spouse is scrolling on a cell phone or silently brooding about a problem at work. We might say the distracted spouse is emotionally distant from the devoted one, even though they are in close physical proximity to one another. Similarly, it is our own emotional distance that creates the need to place ourselves in God’s presence. God is ever present, even though we are not. When we turn to Him in prayer, it is beneficial to begin by recalling his intimate presence and mentally bringing ourselves into it.

In the third means of placing oneself in God’s presence, St. Francis advises the praying Christian to reflect on our Savior who sees us from heaven. St. Francis offers the encouraging point that Jesus pays special heed to the thoughts and actions of his followers who pray.

And fourth, he proposes that we consider our Lord in his sacred humanity, as actually present with us. To imagine Jesus standing by our side in life’s challenging or inspiring moments is to see what exists but is merely hidden from our earthly eyes. It is to see the reality that Jesus is near to us, as near as the loved ones we can see and touch. Furthermore, we can recollect that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist and at Eucharistic adoration.

More Salesian Tips on Prayer

St. Francis does not require that we use all four of these means of placing ourselves in God’s presence every time we pray. He suggests using one or two of them. The kind of prayer we are offering, the circumstances and our intentions may make one particular meditation more suitable than another for that occasion.

Once one has placed himself or herself in the presence of God, the next step St. Francis advises is invocation. We can call on the Lord in numerous ways, by using a Scripture verse or asking the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, or we might ask a saint or our guardian angel to aid us in prayer (De Sales II, 3).

A Deeper Understanding

Sometimes prayer needs to happen without an elaborate preparation. In cases of emergency, temptation, or gratitude for sudden good news, I am not likely to begin by pondering theological truths of the omnipotent, omnipresent God. When I’m in a difficult conversation and need to make a charitable reply, my “Holy Spirit, give me the words!” is quick and hardly premeditated. However, in those circumstances when we more deliberately set about prayer and meditation, I am grateful for a deeper understanding of what it means to place myself in the presence of God.

De Sales, Francis. Introduction to the Devout Life. Tan Books: Charlotte, NC. 2013.