Prayer: Consolation and Desolation
Returning to our series on prayer, we notice that in the spiritual life, like life in general, there are ups and downs, highs and lows. There are times when we experience God’s closeness and his presence seems almost palpable. Prayer comes easily and we seem to be heading toward the stars. Other times, God seems distant and unapproachable and our prayer is dry and mysterious. Theologians call these two states ‘consolation’ and ‘desolation’. There are many aspects of these states we could talk about, but I want to focus on how to pray when we’re in consolation or desolation.
The first thing to note is that these two states are spiritual, not emotional or physical. There are times when we experience emotional highs because of some happy circumstance. There are other moments when we are emotionally or physically depressed because of some negative experience. These can influence our spiritual state, but they are not necessarily the same thing. So someone experiencing SAD (seasonal affective disorder=sadness in winter) isn’t necessarily in spiritual desolation, though their disorder might contribute to feeling far from God. Secondly, neither state is inherently good or bad. It’s not better or worse to be in consolation and desolation, and we should anticipate that we will spend phases of life going back and forth. Though our human nature prefers light to darkness and happiness to sadness, experiencing darkness or sadness does not necessarily mean we’re broken or that God has abandoned us. Rather, a good analogy is the plant that needs rain to stimulate cell growth and dryness to force the roots to dig deeper. Consolation helps stimulate spiritual growth, while desolation forces us to depend more on God.
Given these two states, how should we pray? In both states, our first priority is to love and worship God. If we are in consolation and love the feelings we receive more than God himself, then we are putting second things first. So in consolation we should embrace the good gifts God gives and allow them to motivate us to pray more frequently and more fervently to the Giver of these gifts. Hunker down in prayer in consolation to soak up all the graces God wants you to store up for the dry season. If we are in desolation and prayer is dry, our goal is to remain steadfast in our prayer commitments. Don’t allow how you feel to affect how much you pray! While praying, remain focused on God and make acts of faith (I believe in you), hope (I hope in you), and love (I love you). Pray the Our Father, especially ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done’. Ask that you can receive the graces God is giving you in the darkness, and then wait patiently for the light.
God is never far from those who seek him. Whether we are on Cloud 9 or deep in Hades, we can count on him to be helping us grow more like his Son!