Sometimes, our prayer needs to go beyond word to a place in the heart and soul that is undefined, untethered. Instrumental music can help get there, and we can enhance our prayer by inviting music into our prayer habit. Here are a few tips on how:

Choose different styles of music to reflect the heart of the prayers you wish to lift up. Begin a prayer session with one of these pieces.

Have at hand music without words, and allow your mind to relax as the melody and harmony form and rise.

Use humming or other sustained sound to shut out other distracting noises and focus your prayer – banish the jangle of phones and hear the constant river of song.

Consider birdsong, the breeze blowing by, and other natural sounds as part of the music that can lift the spirit. Be mindful of these, even if you are far from a wooded path or other completely natural environment.

Listen to your breath as life sustaining sound and song, and let it draw you into God’s presence, in prayer and in life.

Joy and Peace,

Maureen