THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER

Offered here are some suggestions that may help you think about the practice of prayer in your life.  May we find ever greater blessing as we explore our inner life and our relation to the sacred.

Think about why you pray or think you should pray:

• A deep personal yearning for connection with the divine?
• A search for deeper meaning in life?
• Parents or ministers or Sunday school teachers have taught you you should pray?
• You feel weak and fearful, and are anxious to find strength and comfort?
• You think God will give you more breaks and advantages in life if you show due respect and reverence?
• You’ve messed up ‘big time’, and you desperately need bailing out?
• You have a deep concern for others in need, and you believe prayer for them can make a difference?
• You believe prayer can put you in touch with sources of wisdom and goodness that can transform your own and others’ lives?

Think about how you conceive of the one(s) you pray to:

• God as a personal being, with human-like qualities – e.g., Father, Mother, Ruler, Shepherd, Friend…?
• One of the persons of the Trinity as traditionally understood in Christian teaching – i.e., Father or Creator, Son (Jesus), or Holy Spirit?
• A less personal, less human-like presence – e.g., life spirit, soul of life, higher power, source of all being, ultimate reality, perfect love, pure light, holy one?
• A saint or other revered figure, such as Mary mother of Jesus, Buddha, the ancestors…?

Thinking about this question will help you clarify what your prayer should be like, how it might best be expressed.

Think about your own temperament and personality, how you communicate and connect with other people:

• Are you an extravert who talks a lot, easily sharing your thoughts and feelings in words?
• Or are you a reserved person who expresses thoughts and feelings much more cautiously?
• Do you express yourself more comfortably in actions than in words?
• Do you thrive on constant human companionship, or do you need a lot of time to yourself in order to feel well?

Reflecting about questions like these may help you understand better what style of prayer will be most helpful to you.  Do you need a lot of words to commune with the divine – your own words or others’?  Or do you need more silence?  Are you more in touch with the sacred when you’re busy, doing things with or for others, than when you’re spending time in solitude?

Think about where you feel most connected with the sacred:

• Busy city streets or shops?
• Your workplace?
• Your kitchen? Bedroom? Backyard?
• In beautiful natural surroundings outdoors?
• The home of a friend?
• A church or other sanctuary?
• The gym or other place of physical exercise or activity?

Think about when you are most likely to be attuned to the sacred:

• Morning, midday, night?
• A particular day or days of the week or month?
• Special seasons?
• Vacation or retreat times?

Think about which of the following particular ways of praying may be helpful to you:

• Simply talking to God in your own words or thoughts.  Be aware of the types of prayer that are possible:  adoration or praise of the divine; thanksgiving for blessings; confession of sin or failure, and trust in God’s grace and forgiveness; asking for guidance and help in times of uncertainty or need; praying for others, bearing their burdens and needs, celebrating their blessings, for people you know or for situations in the wider world; praying alone or with others, using ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’ – or ‘we’ ‘us’ and ‘our’ (as in the Lord’s prayer); and praying without words, trying to listen for the voice of the Other.

• Silent reflection or meditation, with special attention to setting, breathing, posture, movement…

Helpful books: 

Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart (New York: Continuum, 2002). 

Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Boston: Cowley, 2004). 

Dom John Main, Word into Silence (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1980). 

Internet resources: 

For Centering Prayer/Contemplative Prayer

International: www.contemplativeoutreach.org

Canada: www.contemplativeoutreachcanada.org

Ontario: Contemplative Outreach Ontario

              60 Pleasant Blvd. Suite 804

              Toronto, M4T 1K1

              Telephone: 416 927 1350

 For Christian Meditation:

Canada: www.meditatio.ca/enindex.html

World Community for Christian Meditation, at www.wccm.org.

• A focussed retreat, perhaps following the Benedictine monastic tradition where prayer and work are woven into one practice. 

Helpful books: 

Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk (New York: Riverhead, 1996). 

Jean Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today (New York: Harper Collins, 1990). 

Internet resources:  search “Benedictine” or “Rule of St. Benedict”.

• Meditative reading of scripture.  You can do this by following the readings of the church’s

‘lectionary’ or another schedule of daily or weekly readings (such as that produced by the Canadian Bible Society).  Or you can choose your own schedule – e.g., reading through a book of the Bible such as one of the Gospels, the Psalms, or any other major pieces of the scriptures.  It would be helpful to use a Bible that has good explanatory notes about historical background, cultural context and so on.  There is a strong Christian tradition of devotional reading of the Bible known as lectio divina (Latin for ‘divine reading’).  You may wish to explore this particular approach. 

Helpful books: 

The Harper Collins Study Bible,(New Revised Standard Version), general editor Wayne A. Meeks.  Or another good study Bible. 

Thelma Hall, Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1988). 

Robert Casey, Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina (Ligouri, Mo.: Ligouri/Triumph, 1995).

• Use books of spiritual writings other than scripture – prayer books, or collections of other short devotional pieces.  These could provide stimulus and focus for your prayer practice.

• Use hymns, either singing or simply reading the words.  Many – perhaps most – of our hymns are worded as prayers, and they offer a wide range of types of prayer.  You might choose one hymn that you find particularly meaningful and use it as a focus for prayer and reflection for a number of days.  You could select either a hymn with a longer text and an extended sequence of thought, or a simple refrain that could serve more like a repeated chant to focus your meditation (e.g., ‘Lord Jesus Christ, lover of all, trail wide the hem of your garment: bring healing, bring peace.’).

Helpful book: 

Nan Merrill, Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness (New York: Continuum, 1996). 

Songs of the Presence, available through www.praxisofprayer.com.

• Consider memorizing a few key verses or sections of scripture, or the words of a few particularly helpful hymns.  The exercise of memorizing over a period of time could itself provide a framework for prayer and meditation.  And once you have a piece committed to memory, you can return to it mentally from time to time as a way of praying in the midst of other activities – like riding the subway, walking or driving to work or school.  This way you could develop a portable treasury of devotion, a resource of faith that you can access under any circumstances.

• What routine or pattern of prayer is most helpful for you?  A strictly kept time each day, or a more flexible schedule?  Praying ‘on the go’, or taking deliberate time out?  A daily pattern, or a rhythm measured in weeks or months or seasons?

These suggestions do not by any means cover all facets of the vast subject of prayer.  And the few resources mentioned are only a very small sample of the many helpful materials that are available.  Feel free to engage me in further conversation about the subject.

Bill Elliott, minister at Glebe Presbyterian Church, Toronto

416-485-1881   glebechurch@rogers.com