Contemplation is not so much about you gazing at God but realizing he is gazing at you

I find the need to be frequently reminded that prayer is not about what I do but what God is doing in me, especially when I find myself distracted, weary, dry, or inept in prayer. Rather than focussing on my devotion to him, or think that I have much faithfulness, or focus on my act of contemplating him - I remember that he is devoted to me, faithful to help me in my weakness, contemplating me in my forgetfulness. Prayer is work, but primarily the work of allowing God to be God and have his way in me. The glorious Virgin Mary exemplifies this, for in her Immaculate Heart we find God's garden, where he is permitted to dwell more perfectly than in the hearts of all the saints in heaven.