(Teresa’s phrase for the courage to keep praying when prayer feels impossible)

I’ve shared what felt like a prolonged dry spell—yet the Lord has recently shown me it was simply a different season of prayer. A forgotten, ancient road walked by countless believers before us. If your well feels dry, I hope what I’ve learned brings comfort and clarity.

It helps so much to know we aren’t alone in these seasons. Many of the most devoted saints wrote openly about prayerlessness and spiritual dryness. I’ve been spending time with some of the Church mothers and fathers, because they describe these shifting seasons with such honesty. Lately I’ve been especially moved by Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena—bold, luminous women of faith who reformed the Church when women had little influence, and who understood dry spells better than most.

What Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena Taught About Dryness in Prayer

Catherine of Siena (1347–1380)

• God allows dryness to purify motives and mature love.

• Prayer is relationship—sometimes tender, sometimes quiet, sometimes costly.

• Feelings come and go; union is rooted in surrender.

• The enemy attacks hardest in dry seasons—especially with discouragement.

• Perseverance grows the soul and increases compassion.

• God uses dryness to teach humility, dependence, and holy longing.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

• Dryness is normal and often a sign of God drawing us deeper—not farther.

• Prayer is primarily God’s work in the soul, not ours.

• Our job is to keep showing up with “determined determination.”

• Consolations come and go; faithfulness matters most.

• Distraction isn’t failure—returning is victory.

• Love expressed in obedience pleases God more than mystical feelings.

Both women insist: Dryness is not absence. Dryness is invitation.

12 Tips to Perservere in Prayer

1. Expect resistance.

the enemy knows prayer’s power. Satan loves to whisper discouragement, distraction, and unworthiness. Don’t fall for it. Even trying honors God—and God honors the trying.

2. Let the Psalms pray for you.

David and the psalmists model the full range of human emotion—messiness and all. Psalm 40 alone covers so much holy ground. When you have no words, borrow his.

3. Rote prayers can ground and refresh us. In the morning, I roll onto my knees and pray the Lord’s Prayer, sometimes adding one or two written prayers to steady my heart before the day begins.

4. Write your prayers.

Prayer-journaling has saved me more times than I can count. Even a simple list keeps me anchored. Other times I just let the pen speak my heart.

5. Keep it simple.

“Help me.”

“Show me.”

“Thy will be done.”

These can be prayed ten or a thousand times. Short prayers are often the purest.

6. Stillness is prayer.

For those of us addicted to doing, this is hard—but essential. Sitting quietly with God, without performance, is one of the deepest forms of communion.

7. Pray for and with others.

A single shared prayer—spoken or silent—breaks isolation and stirs faith.

8. Don’t let distraction derail you.

Some days I fight for every moment of focus. Coffee calls. Ideas interrupt. The phone buzzes. It’s okay. The miracle is in returning. Again and again.

9. Trust the Spirit’s intercession.

When you can’t pray, the Holy Spirit prays for you (Romans 8:26–27). You’re never prayerless—not really.

10. Worship when you’re weary.

One song can jumpstart joy and peace. dancing can re-awaken the soul.

11. Seek His face.

It is not idolatry to pray with a holy image of Jesus, or imagining Him in glory or sitting beside you. Christians have done this for centuries. You are not worshiping the image—you’re orienting your heart toward the Person behind it.

12. Abide.

The simplest, truest prayer is simply being with God—in the car, washing dishes, walking from room to room. Communion is woven into ordinary life.

It’s enough.

PRACTICE

Pick one of these approaches this week. Try it for three days. Notice what shifts—inside or out.

PRAYER

Lord, what a luxury it is to connect with You. What a luxury to be loved by You. Grant us grace to pray—and grace not to despair when we can’t. Teach us that our longing itself is prayer. Meet us in dryness, deepen our trust, and draw us close. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank You. I love You. 💖

#DrySeasonsOfPrayer #SeekingGod #DrawNearToGod #PrayerWarrior #HolyLonging #GraceForToday

#Women of Faith #ChurchMothers

#ModernContemplative

Edited with AI help.