Contemplation is a gift first and foremost, a gift of love. We feel that prayer is just a technique, everything will fall into place, and that God will have to respond to me if I have set up the techniques right. But the reality is that love is what drives prayer. We bring our love to God. God responds in love.
Love opens up possibilities.
That sense of fire in the belly, of passion, is really what this love is about. In many cases, our prayer is largely just formulas. It is a copy of life rather than a real relationship. Love is the basic prescription for a prayer life that is limping or ill. Prayer comes alive when we are dancing to the same music God is moving to.