A few days ago I came across something Mother Teresa of Calcutta said about praying,

“Try to feel the need for prayer often during the day and take the trouble to pray. Prayer makes the heart large enough until it can contain God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.”

“… feel the need to pray often during the day…”

“… take the trouble to pray.”

“Prayer makes the heart large …”

“… God’s gift of Himself.”

As I read and reread this, it seems to me that Mother Teresa captures something important about praying and about spiritual practices in general.  It often takes effort and intention to “practice” anything.  We don’t wait to just “feel like it” but “take the trouble” to do this thing.

Do you agree with her that praying changes the heart?

I fear that any spiritual practice can be so self-centered it is nothing more than an ego-trip.  If we see it is about “God’s gift of himself” and we stand ready to receive that gift and all the challenges and responsibilities it entails then we stand ready to grow.

I recently heard a minister quote 2 Timothy 1:6, “… stir up the gift of God, which is in thee …”  You have a gift. What will you do now?