Ways of Prayer

Prayer is the fundamental sustenance for faith and faithful living – intended to be the source of our life – living water.

We all pray in very individual ways, and yet there are many common ways of praying. However, most of our diets of prayer are pretty limited, and yet the journey of prayer has a menu that is extensive, inviting and exciting, waiting for us to explore.

A common view of prayer is that it is a human activity and intercession the most common and important way. The disciples asked Jesus ‘teach us to pray’. Clearly they saw a way of prayer that was more powerful than their own prayer.

There is plenty to explore, perhaps much that could enrich our prayer life further. Prayer is the activity of the Holy Spirit – Spirit prays in us – in real sense all we can do is desire and seek to let this happen, and see where the journey takes us.

Here are some key areas to explore in private prayer, whether you are just starting to pray, or have prayed for years.

Preparation

Jesus said ‘Go into a private place’.

Where is your private place – physically – is there a space you have or can make that is private where you won’t be disturbed and can focus on being open and as present to God as possible.

Are you aware of your inner space – that place within yourself that you are in touch with and seek to hold open to God when you pray

What posture helps you to pray – kneeling, using prayer stool, sitting in a comfortable chair, flat on your back on the floor…

What is a good time to pray – when you have energy to be engaged, not too tired, when you wont be interrupted …

Bringing Self to Prayer

You are 50% of the relationship that prayer is an expression of. What are you bringing to it? Who, how, where am I as I come to prayer? What are my needs and desires for this time of prayer? What grace from God am I seeking? These are valuable starting reflections as you approach any time of prayer.

Stilling & Trusting

How deeply we enter into prayer depends on all sorts of factors. Taking time to become more still, to let go of immediate concerns helps greatly. Relaxation exercises are more profound than simply becoming physically relaxed, but can help us mentally to quieten down, open up spiritually to the Holy Spirit, and as such are a profound act of faith – trusting all concerns to God while I am giving my attention to God.

Some common ways of stilling are:-

Ø     Music: Using pieces of music that are calming, gentle, inspiring. There are plenty of collections around with a relaxation theme – but it is advisable to avoid pieces that have strong connections for you to things that are not peaceful.

Ø     Awareness of Breathing – take time to listen to your breathing – and let it slow to an easy rhythm.

Ø     Awareness of Sounds: Sit still and focus your listening on the sounds coming from outside, then from inside, then in you (heartbeat, breathing)

Using Scripture in Prayer

Two key approaches to using scripture in prayer (with roots in the earliest Christian traditions) are ‘Lectio Divina’ and ‘Imaginative contemplation’, sometimes known as ‘Ignatian Prayer’.

Both approaches seek to let scripture speak to us, without us having to work at its meaning or application. The meaning and application emerge as a by-product of the experience of hearing the message of the scripture for you.

Lectio Divina

This is sometimes called ‘slow reading’. Take a short passage, and read it slowly, letting each word or phrase sink in. This is a bit like sucking a toffee – it requires little effort, just gentle patience as its flavour emerges and is savoured. Where you notice a word or phrase having some impact, stay with it and savour it – let it be God’s word for you and hold it in your heart. Don’t feel you have to get to the end of a passage – doing so can distract you from the gift of God for you that you have already received.

Imaginative Contemplation

This can be a very powerful way of letting scripture speak to us. Take a passage, gospel passages are particularly appropriate, and let yourself enter into the story. Use your capacity to picture or imagine the scene. Initially just let yourself be there – see where you are, listen to the sounds, feel, and then slowly let the events of the story unfold – with you being involved – perhaps as one of the people involved – and so being part of the event.  Spend time at the end in conversation with Jesus about it all.

Repetitive Prayer

Taking a word, a short phrase or sentence and repeating this again and again is another ancient Christian way of praying that is being used more today. ‘Jesus’, ‘Abba’, ‘alleluia’, ‘maranatha’, ‘prince of peace’, ‘emannuel’, ‘Lord’ are common, but you can pick your own, as feels appropriate. The Jesus Prayer ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ is a longer prayer that uses this approach. Say your phrase quietly to yourself or out loud, in the rhythm of your breathing and stay with this for 5-10 minutes or more.

Silence

Simply be silent in prayer. Aim to be present to God, without the distraction of words, images, activity and so be. Whenever you become aware of a thought, a distraction etc., simply notice and let it go, and seek again to be silent and without thoughts, etc. So we enable the Spirit to be tending to that within us that we are unaware of – and will know the benefit by its effects (which may be noticed long after the event or slowly over time).

Reviewing Prayer

Reviewing the experience of your time of prayer can be fruitful. At the end give a few minutes with a notebook to record what you did, what you were seeking, and any awareness that emerged through your prayer time. What were the high points, what distracted you, how did you feel afterwards?

Keeping a journal about your prayer experience can be helpful – to see how you have journeyed, to return to experiences, to notice longer-term graces given through your life.

Sharing Experience of Prayer

While private prayer is a very personal experience, there is something profoundly helpful about sharing your experiences. This needs some care, though, as sharing something so personal initially needs to be honoured and protected. Having a person or group where you can share honestly and without pressure your experiences can enable further growth in your prayer / faith journey. Soul friends, spiritual friends or companions, spiritual directors are all terms that can describe this sort of relationship. They provide a significant opportunity to reflect on your journey and hold yourself accountable for your faith.

Conclusion

I hope the above ideas, provide useful pointers to ways of exploring prayer further. They may stretch, challenge, disturb, but that is what the faith journey is all about.

Two final points: Firstly, it can be very helpful to work out for yourself, a foundation of your spiritual life – commonly called a ‘Rule of Life’. This needs to be a realistic, achievable minimum you seek to maintain, daily, weekly, monthly, annually.

Secondly, having a spiritual companion with whom you look at your spiritual life on a regular basis (every 2 or 3 months) is profoundly helpful as you have a chance to reflect on your explorations, receive support and suggestions for going on. I can help you in the process of finding an appropriate person.

Enjoy the explorations, but remember, perhaps the best advice in prayer ‘Pray as you can, not as you can’t’.