Lesson 6: Persevering When Prayer Feels Dry

You have been praying for a few weeks now. At some point, maybe already, prayer will begin to feel empty. The words will seem to bounce off the ceiling. You will wonder whether anyone is listening and whether you are wasting your time. This lesson is about that experience, which has a name, dryness, and which every person who has ever prayed seriously has gone through.

Dryness is normal

The early sweetness of prayer, when it feels new and God seems close, is a gift to get you started. It is not meant to last forever. Eventually God withdraws the feelings so that you learn to pray for Him rather than for the feelings. Saint John of the Cross called this the dark night. If the saints were not spared, you will not be either.

Dryness is not a sign that you are doing something wrong or that God has left. It is often a sign that you are being taken deeper.

Distinguish dryness from neglect

There is a difference between dryness and simple neglect. If you have stopped praying, let sin crowd out your prayer time, or filled your life with noise, the emptiness you feel is not spiritual dryness but spiritual hunger, and the remedy is to return. Be honest with yourself. If you have been faithful and prayer still feels empty, that is dryness, and the remedy is to keep going.

What to do in dry seasons

Keep your appointment. Show up at your time and place even when you feel nothing. Faithfulness in dryness is one of the purest forms of love.

Shorten but do not skip. If you cannot manage ten minutes, do five. Pray the Our Father slowly. Sit in silence. God counts the showing up.

Tell God about it. Lord, this feels empty. I do not sense You. I am here anyway. That is an honest prayer and a mature one.

Lean on written prayers. When you have no words of your own, the Psalms and the traditional prayers carry you. Psalm 13, Psalm 42, and Psalm 88 are prayers of people who felt exactly what you feel.

Go to the sacraments. Confession and the Eucharist work whether you feel them or not. Many people find dryness lifts after a good confession.

Find companions. Talk to a priest, a spiritual director, or a trusted friend who prays. Dryness is easier to bear when someone else knows.

What dryness produces

People who persevere through dryness come out with a faith that no longer depends on moods. They have learned to trust God in the dark, which is the only place trust can really be tested. Their prayer becomes quieter, simpler, and deeper. They are less impressed by spiritual feelings and more attentive to God's will. In other words, they become holy.

Looking ahead

You have completed the six lessons of this course. You know what prayer is, you have a time and place, you can use both written prayers and your own words, you can pray with Scripture, you can intercede for others, and you know how to persevere. That is everything you need. The rest is a lifetime of practice.

Practice exercise

Write a short letter to God about where your prayer life is right now, including anything that feels dry or difficult. Be completely honest. Then write one sentence committing to your time and place for the next thirty days. Keep the letter in your Bible and read it again in a month to see what has changed.