I've been doing spiritual direction for well over 30 years now, and I can say with confidence that the only people who really advance in the spiritual life are those who have a regular practice of prayer.

By this, I mean that they take one or two times each day to be alone with God, to relate to God using some method or another that opens them to the influence of the Spirit in their consciousness.
- see http://shalomplace.com/res/prayer.html for Christian methods of prayer

I can also say that this generally works best for most first thing in the morning, before checking email, watching news, or even doing much relating to others. It seems there is a special openness and vulnerability for a short while after waking up, after which the mind begins to spin about this or that. Introducing prayer before engaging with the everyday routine allows the mind to operate in the context of a greater spaciousness that one can learn to tune into throughout the day. It might even be essential to have other quiet prayer breaks during the day.

People have asked about my own practice, here, and so I will share that I generally have at least three prayer periods, one shortly after waking, one after breakfast, and another in the evening.
- the first prayer period consists of 45-60 min. of quiet sitting, during which time I pray various prayers, sing at times, do breathing prayer, and sometimes there is glossalalia; by the end, I feel deeply connected to God, energized, and ready for the day.
- the second consists of Morning Prayer from the Church's liturgy of the hours; these are prayers said mindfully, with a time for intentions as well; I generally take the last 5 of this 15 min for quiet prayer.
- the third is similar to the second, but the focus is Evening Prayer in late afternoon.

Before bedtime, I also do a brief Examen of Consciousness, noting gratitudes and regrets.

Also, of course, throughout the day, there is prayer and ongoing relating to God. Without the times for morning and evening prayer, however, these "prayers on the go" would be superficial (for me) and ineffective.

The routine I keep might seem impressive to some, but it is rather typical for someone who travels the path of contemplative spirituality. A number of my directees pray this much, and more. But even those who rarely experience contemplation need to have some set times for prayer, just as we need to give priority attention to any relationship.

So if you're not regular with prayer or some form of meditation, resolve to give this practice priority attention henceforth. You won't regret it.

Thank you Phil

Thank you

I wanted to click on "Like"... spending too much time on FB.
Thank you for sharing this, Phil. I also love spending quiet time and prayer first thing in the morning, and then after dinner I have sort of a breathing prayer. What do you mean by Your breathing prayer? Is the breath your prayer word, as in Centering Prayer, or what?

Katy

Hi Katy. Breathing prayer is similar to centering prayer in that the breath could be used as a variety of the "sacred word" that is emphasized in centering prayer. So basically, one turns the attention to breath and simply follows the rhythms of breathing without trying to breathe any particular way. Some people like to count breaths, from 1 - 4, or 1 - 10; I do that sometimes, or use as word like God or Spirit or "come, Lord Jesus" when inhaling, then "praise you, Lord" when exhaling. You can ask the Spirit to help you choose a word or phrase, here. If one feels like letting go of a word, phrase or counting to just breathe, that's fine, too. It's not a rigid method.