Generally speaking, growth in the Divine life is a process of gradual unfolding. For instance, the process of creation took eons to get from God’s first physical manifestation to now, with creation still evolving. The salvific journey took millennia to get from Abraham to Christ, and we still await the full, final realization of our union with God, when “there will be no more night” (Rev 22:5). For all our fascination with sweeping, sudden change, evidence would suggest that God’s preferred approach is slow and steady. We should be ready to apply a similar approach in our prayer practices. Most contemplative practices are intended to allow space and time for the gradual unfolding of the Divine Life within each of us. One of the reasons the recommended length of a Centering Prayer period is 20 minutes is because indications are that it takes half that long for the average person to quiet their mind and allow the seed of awareness to take root. So afford yourself the same time and patience that God affords the Divine project. Don’t expect to master any practice you undertake too quickly – it’s not unrealistic to expect weeks or months of settling into a practice before it starts to feel natural. Don’t be too quick to make brash changes, and don’t abandon practice for a perceived lack of “results”. The willingness to persist in the slow exercise of relationship-building pleases God beyond any sense of mastery.