A Short Method of Meditation
A Reflection on St. Francis De Sales Treatise on His Short Method of Meditation
A Short Method of Meditation
A Rewriting of St. Francis De Sales Treatise on His Short Method of Meditation
Sometimes we feel unsure about how to pray interiorly; we wonder how to listen to God in silence, to speak to Him from the heart. This kind of prayer, often called mental prayer, may seem distant or difficult, especially today when life is noisy and hurried. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a simple way to begin.
Before anything else, take a moment to gently prepare your heart. Begin by becoming aware of God’s presence. He is here, now. He is closer than your breath. This isn’t about imagination or feelings, but a quiet act of faith. You might recall that He dwells within you by grace, or picture Him looking at you with love, or remember that all creation is held in His gaze. Any of these can help you recollect yourself.
Once you’ve placed yourself in His presence, ask for help, like a child asking a parent to guide their first steps. Ask Him to teach you how to pray, to draw your heart toward His, to open you to whatever He wants to show you.
That’s it for the beginning. The rest, in time, will unfold. There are many books you can explore, but most of all, it is prayer itself that will teach you how to pray. And God, who longs to be with you, will gently lead you, if you allow Him.
The First Way: Becoming Aware of His Presence Everywhere
The first step is this: to awaken in your heart the awareness that God is truly here.
He is not far away, hidden in some distant corner of the universe. He is everywhere. He is present in all things, in every place, at every moment. Just as the air surrounds the birds in flight, so God surrounds us. Wherever we go, His presence meets us there.
This is something we know in faith, and most of us would easily say, “Yes, of course, God is everywhere.” But the trouble is that while we know this, we often forget to live like it's true.
Think of a blind man who’s been told he’s standing in the presence of a king. He may not see the king with his eyes, but he will still stand with reverence. Yet how easy it is to lose that reverence when we don't see with our senses. We forget what we cannot feel or grasp tangibly.
That’s how it is with us and God. Even though faith assures us that He is present, we often move through life as if He were far off. So before we begin to pray, we need to gently call our heart to attention, like a child waking up to the loving presence of their Father. We need to say to ourselves: God is here. Right now. With me.
This is what Scripture reminds us. David said, “If I climb the heavens, You are there; if I lie in the grave, You are there too” (Ps 139:8). And Jacob, waking from his dream of the ladder reaching to heaven, cried out, “Truly, the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” (Gen 28:16). Not because he doubted God’s presence, but because he had forgotten to dwell on it.
So when you step into prayer, start with this quiet act of faith: God is indeed here. Let your heart rest in that awareness. Everything else flows from there.
The Second Way: Resting in His Presence Within
Another way to become aware of God’s nearness is to remember that He is not only all around you but within you.
He is present in the quiet sanctuary of your heart, closer than your own breath. He is the One who gives life to your thoughts, who stirs the deeper movements of your soul. He doesn’t just watch over you from above. He dwells within you, as the very life of your spirit.
Just as the soul gives life to the whole body and especially animates the heart, so God, who is present everywhere, chooses to make His dwelling in the depths of your being. He is the Heart of your heart. The hidden flame within you.
That’s why David could cry out to God as “the strength of my heart” (Ps 73:26), and why St. Paul says “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It’s not poetry—it’s truth.
Take a moment to rest in this. Let the thought settle in you: God is here, in me. Let it awaken in you a reverence, a quiet awe, not from fear, but from love. The Lord of heaven and earth has chosen to dwell so near, to be so intimate, so faithful. Stay there with that truth for a while, and let it shape the way you begin to pray.
The Third Way: Jesus Sees You with Love
Remember that Jesus, in His risen and glorified body, sees you.
He is not distant or indifferent. From His place at the right hand of the Father, He watches over the world, but in a special way, He watches over His children, those who belong to Him through baptism. And even more attentively, He watches over those who turn to Him in prayer.
This isn’t just a beautiful thought. It’s true. Even though our eyes cannot see Him, He sees us. Just as He saw Stephen in the moment of his martyrdom, standing at the threshold of heaven. And just as the Bride in the Song of Songs whispers, “He looks in through the windows, He gazes through the lattice” (Song 2:9), so Jesus looks upon you lovingly, attentively.
When you begin to pray, pause to remember this: Jesus is looking at you. Not with judgment or distance, but with the eyes of a Shepherd who knows His sheep. He sees your heart, your burdens, your desire to draw near.
Let that gaze of Christ be your place of rest. Let it awaken a sense of trust, reverence, and love. And let your prayer begin under the warmth of that look, so personal, so present.
The Fourth Way: Let Your Imagination Help You Encounter Jesus
Another simple way to become aware of God’s presence is to let your imagination serve your heart in prayer. Just as you might picture a dear friend sitting beside you, you can gently imagine Jesus near you, in His Sacred Humanity. He is walking with you, sitting beside you, listening to you.
This is not pretending. It’s a way of stirring your heart to remember that He truly is with you. He took on a human body to draw close to us, and even now, in His risen body, He is not far off.
And when you are near the Blessed Sacrament, this nearness is not just imagined, it is real. Jesus is truly present there: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Eucharist is not a symbol or a reminder, but a living Presence. The Host veils Him, but He is there, gazing upon you, listening, loving you.
Whether you use this or one of the other ways to place yourself in God’s presence, don’t feel pressure to do them all at once. Just choose one that helps you draw near in that moment. Keep it simple. A quiet gesture of love and faith is more than enough to begin.
Let your prayer begin from that place, knowing that you are seen, known, and held by the One who is always present.
© 2025, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.
Very beautiful and comforting. Thank you for writing this.
Really helpful Lawain-thanks!