Struggling With Prayer

For Christmas I received as a present a hand held labyrinth.   I have been a fan of the labyrinth for years.  Walking the path almost takes one out of the real world and into a place of walking solely with God.

To the uninitiated a labyrinth may seem a bit strange.  Just walking around a maze that has no exit.  The experience is so much more than that.

According to Wikipedia “Labyrinths can be thought of as symbolic forms of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment. Many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths and prayer substituted for such travel.  Many newly made labyrinths exist today, in churches and parks. Labyrinths are used by modern mystics to help achieve a contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets his mind.”

I use it as a way to calm my mind enter the presence of God without distraction.  Using the stylus and tracing the pattern I am able to block all the distractions from around me and focus on God.  It has become almost a daily ritual as I seek God.

It has become a journey to me.  I enter the labyrinth with God, and as we walk towards the center, we talk about general things, leaving the world behind.  When we reach the center, we stop as far away from the world as we can get and discuss the serious matters we need to discuss.  Once we finish we walk back out from the center and conclude our discussion as we reach the world once again.

I realize this may sound very mystical, but I am a very visual person.  It helps me in my prayer life to visualize God with me, walking and talking.

I do not know what works for you.  But I would encourage you, that if you are having a struggle in your prayer life, try the labyrinth.  It helped me refocus my prayer life, it may help you.