Calm the Chaos: 5-Minute Prayer Practices for Advent
reflection by Ashley Brooks
For many people, December is the busiest time of year. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, and travel to plan. Yet in the midst of all this hustle and bustle, Advent offers us an invitation to slow down and reflect on the Incarnation. During this season of waiting, we are invited to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and to notice the inner work God is doing in us.
Even if you don’t have much time to spare during this full season, contemplative prayer is always accessible to you. We invite you to explore these simple Advent prayer practices that can fit into even the most chaotic days.
Ground Yourself in Silence
Before beginning any of these prayer practices, we invite you to begin with a few moments of silence. Silence is a gift that transitions us from our racing thoughts to calm time spent in prayer. Find a quiet space where you can close a door to the noise of the outside world. Close your eyes and take a few deep, grounding breaths.
Feel yourself settle into your chair. Let the silence fill the space around you. If your thoughts become a distraction, notice them and then gently set them aside for later.
Advent Breath Prayers
Breath prayer is a beautiful, ancient practice that can help you refocus on the present moment and notice God. Some breath prayers use lines from the Psalms, while others are words that fit a particular mood or season. In moments of silence, you may find that you hear your own unique phrase that could be used for breath prayer.
Breathe deeply for a few moments, focusing on centering yourself on your breath. Remember in this space that breath is life, given to you by God, moving within you.
Once you feel centered, choose one of the following Advent-oriented phrases to focus your practice on, or use your own. Meditate on the first line as you inhale, and the second as you exhale. Repeat this for several rounds of breath or for as long as you feel comfortable.
Inhale: In your light . . . Exhale: We see hope
Inhale: The Lord is my light . . . Exhale: And my salvation
(From Psalm 27:1)
Inhale: I wait for you, Lord . . . Exhale: My soul hopes in your word
(From Psalm 130:5)
Inhale: O Come, o come . . . Exhale: Emmanuel
Advent Imaginative Prayer
Imaginative prayer is an Ignatian contemplative practice that invites us to enter fully into a Gospel story. It’s a form of co-creating with the Creator as you use your imagination to make what isn’t present into something that feels real to you. Just five minutes in imaginative prayer can transform scripture into living Word, although you can certainly spend longer in this prayer practice if you’d like!
First, choose one of these Gospel passages related to Advent:
The Annunciation (Luke 1:26–38)
Mary visits Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–56)
The birth of Jesus (Luke 2:4–20)
You may want to find an online recording of the passage so that you can be fully present to the details of the story without needing to read. After grounding yourself in silence, listen to your chosen passage and visualize the scene using the prompts below.
As you hear the passage being read, allow it to unfold like a movie, with you as part of the scene. You may want to pause the reading so you can sit with it more fully. Let your imagination fill in the details of the story.
Notice which perspective you take. Are you imagining the scene as if you were Mary, the angel Gabriel, Elizabeth, an onlooker, one of the stable animals?
Use your five senses to bring the passage to life. What would you smell, see, hear, feel, and taste if you were there?
Think of the perspective you’re embodying. What may this person have felt in that moment?
In what ways may God be speaking to you through this living Gospel scene?
Advent Centering Prayer
Much like breath prayer, centering prayer involves choosing a sacred word or phrase to sit with for a certain amount of time. If you’re new to this practice, five minutes is an accessible starting point.
After grounding yourself in silence, see if a word or phrase comes to you to use for your centering prayer. You can also choose one of these options related to Advent:
Light in the darkness
Hope
Joy
Peace
Holy waiting
Presence
Abide
In your mind, repeat your sacred word. Let it serve as an intention for your time as you open yourself to receiving God’s love. If your thoughts drift away, gently direct them back using your centering word. At the end of your prayer time, finish with gratitude for time spent in God’s presence. Notice how you feel, both emotionally and in your body.
Calm the Chaos and Listen Deeply
Contemplative prayer invites us more deeply into relationship with God, the world, and each other. Taking the time to be fully present is a gift to both ourselves and others. If you’d like to more fully explore contemplative prayer and God’s movement in your life, we invite you to consider spiritual direction.
The work of spiritual direction is to be open to God, to love. In this space, you can work with a trained spiritual director one-on-one to notice how God is working in your life—and how you are responding to God. If this resonates with you, we invite you to learn more about spiritual direction and to find a spiritual director.
Ashley Brooks is a writer and editor with a heart for seeking the sacred in ordinary days. She will graduate with a spiritual direction certificate and a master's degree in Christian Spirituality from Loyola University Chicago in Spring 2026. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and their four children.