Prayer is a thoroughly human activity, which means it is, as are all things human, thoroughly embodied.  Yes, we pray with our minds and hearts and spirits, but just as truly we pray with our bodies—because we are, each one of us, a mind-body-spirit unity.

So the physical senses matter, and what feeds into us through them matters, in our prayer.  That means time and place matter.

In this passage from Mark’s gospel, Jesus is very busy healing and preaching, and crowds are starting to gather.  So for his prayer he chooses the very early morning, before the crowds are up, and a deserted place.

This week, pay attention to what’s going on in your life, and make a conscious choice about your prayer place and time that reflects what you’re noticing.

Maybe your life is full of people and their demands, and in order to enter deeply into attention to your own inner experience and to God you need a deserted place and a quiet time.

Or maybe you spend a lot of time alone at home or alone in an office or cubicle, and for you a place where there are other people might better support your prayer—perhaps a church or chapel, or perhaps just somewhere where you can sit and nurse a cup of coffee while others sit or come and go nearby.

And what about time?  Maybe you need to pray before entering into your day, so that you can engage your day from a centered and grounded stance.

Or maybe you need to pray in the midst of your day, so that you nourish your awareness of God in all you do.

Or maybe you need to pray at the end of your day, looking back over its events and interactions and allowing God to show you whatever you need to notice.

Whatever your particular situation, this week take time to notice it, and to make a conscious, intentional choice about when and where you will pray.  Perhaps try a few different options, and see what difference they make.  Talk with God about what you experience when you do this.