I came across the book ” Rule for a new brother” by H van der Looy, on a quiet day a time ago and over the years have found it helpful. It does not prescribe, it invites. This is a piece from it:
‘Your prayer is therefore not so much a duty as a privilege; a gift rather than a problem or the result of your own efforts.
So don’t tire yourself out looking for beautiful thoughts or words, but stay attentive before God in humility and expectation, in desire and purity of heart, full of joy and hope.
Your prayer will take countless forms because it is the echo of your life, and a reflection of the inexhaustible light in which God dwells.’