There is a particular kind of silence I used to think was necessary for prayer. It involved stillness, focus and a kind of interior calm where nothing interrupted and nothing distracted. It was the sort of silence you imagine monks having, not parents trying to gather their children at the end of a long day.
Then I started praying Night Prayer with my children.
The first night, I had a plan. We would gather together, dim the lights and maybe even light a candle to set the tone. I wanted it to feel intentional, reverent and set apart from the rest of the day. For a brief moment, it actually began that way. Then, almost immediately, the reality of family life set in. One child started fidgeting. Another whispered something unrelated. One of my younger children asked a question that had nothing to do with the psalms we were praying. I found myself trying to keep us on track while wondering whether this counted as prayer at all.
