Until the year 2020, the Bible and prayer played almost no role in my daily life. At that time, my childhood faith had been deeply shaken, and I had many unanswered questions and doubts. Thanks to wonderful pastoral care from members of my church and many one-on-one conversations, a completely new perspective emerged in me about what the Christian faith could mean for my life. I had heard before that a personal relationship with God, with real-life impact, was possible, but now I was encouraged to take steps of faith and explore this "uncharted territory."

I particularly struggled with personal prayer up until that point. I kept asking myself: If God knows me better than I know myself, why should I keep telling Him everything when He already knows it all? During this time, I first heard about contemplative prayer. This prayer, almost without words and in complete silence, suited my situation wonderfully, and I began to learn it. It has since become my daily source of life for mind and soul. Through regular silent prayer, I can now also pray with words much more effectively.

As a teenager, I started reading the Bible twice - from start to finish, that was my plan. But I failed both times. In 2021, I gave it another try because I finally wanted to read every word of this mysterious book for myself. I first read the New Testament, then began reading one chapter from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament daily. This routine works perfectly for me. Beyond gaining an understanding of the connections and chronological flow of biblical history, I have also experienced special moments where God's Word spoke directly into my life.