A Reflection by Rev Adrian Johnson
(Adrian is one of the trustees of Hopeswood, and a priest in the Church of Wales).
Jesus prayed, constantly. When He was in the wilderness; in the synagogue; in the Temple. With friends and even when He was on his own. He prayed constantly to His heavenly Father; and He prayed for others and for Himself, but mainly He prayed for the glory of God and to further His Kingdom. Jesus knew that prayer was both important and powerful. He taught his disciples how to pray, and He teaches us too.
As Christians we believe in the power of prayer: ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them’ said Jesus (Matthew 18:20). Now there are times when we can’t always be together physically, especially with varying COVID restrictions and modern family life meaning that any live apart. At Woodlands House of Prayer we are temporarily without a physical home, but prayer remains at the heart of who we are, and what we do. This article may help us to join our prayers together, or help us all with a greater understanding of prayer life, and how we can pray even if things look bleak.
Vera Hawkins wrote in her book “Large Doors Open Wide on Little Hinges” that before Woodlands House of Prayer (our parent charity) was even thought about (or named). She and Margaret Barbour had “two years of fellowship, Bible study and prayer ... during this period I learnt to listen to God and to do what He told me.” As St Paul says in Ephesians 6:18; “... pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests...” In the same way that food is important to sustain our daily living, prayer is as important to sustaining and growing in our Christian lives.
Firstly, let me say that there’s no right or wrong way of praying! There is just prayer.
St Benedict said that prayer is “the work of God,” and a quote that is attributed to St. Augustine says: “pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you.” Asking God what we should do in prayer is a good habit to start and can assist us with regard to absolutely any aspect of our lives.
The Church, in all its various denominations, extols the value of prayer in our daily lives. In prayer we are talking to God, our Father and our friend, He loves us and wants us to talk with Him. We chat to our friends and family, we should talk to God too. He is there, He will listen. Unlike St Paul, we won’t always get that blinding flash of light and directly hear God’s voice, however, He is listening and He wants to hear from us. Sometimes we don’t easily hear His reply, or it’s not the immediate one that we crave. As the hymn puts it; He is in the “still small voice of calm” as well as being with us “through the earthquake, wind and fire”. This important point is not how God responds, but that He does respond.
The problem is that it’s easy to talk or write about praying, and some people seem to make it look so trouble free, and sometimes the prayer does just flows out with the Spirit, but not always! Another part of the Rule of St Benedict is about stability and obedience. In life in general, and specifically in prayer life, he taught that a Religious (a member of a religious order who has formally dedicated their life to God) should pray regularly throughout the day, and the night. For in having a routine, we can learn more about discipline and faithfulness in our lives. Now we are not all called to be monks or nuns, and I suspect that there are very few of us that would have the time to be able to act as a full time Religious in our homes. However, I am sure that we can all learn that some discipline in our prayer is important.
Having a regular routine is one way in which we can connect more with our lives, and with God. Are you an early bird or night owl? Or perhaps the sort that likes a mid-morning prayer time with a cup of coffee and a biscuit? It really doesn’t matter, it’s the doing of the prayer that is important.
Remember, God wants to hear from us. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14). But what do we do when the prayer times are hard? When whatever we seem to do pray seems like we are talking to the ceiling? Or we keep getting distracted? There are all sorts of hints and tips to help assist our prayer life. Some of them are in this article, there are others, my prayer is that you find one, or some, that help you.
Sometimes physical things help us to concentrate or focus when we are praying. Try having something to hold; like a hand cross or a crucifix, a rosary or prayer beads. Maybe looking at a picture of a person or place would help you centre yourself, and place you where you need to be. This really helps sometimes if the picture is of who, or what, you are praying for.
Memories of places, people, things can bring us closer to where we feel we need to be. This is especially true of sounds; you could try listening to a favourite piece of music or hymn. Or if this may be distracting, then try sitting quietly in silence, listening only to the world around you, and allow your thoughts to turn towards God.
Prayers can be physical as well as spiritual. Our position also affects how we feel, and how we are. Some prefer praying when kneeling, others sitting or standing. Hands together? Hands in the air? Be however you feel most comfortable with. An easy (but please be safe) way of showing prayer is to do something as simple as lighting a candle. Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12b). A candle has been used by Christians for centuries to signify Christ’s light, the light to bring revelation to us all.
Prayer walks are another way of using the practical to aid prayer. God’s creation is all around us, whether we live in the countryside or the town centre. Walking in the fresh air releases dopamine, also known as the “happy hormone”. This hormone helps our general well-being and happiness; all exercise causes our brains to release this, even light exercise. Our loving Father cares about us, how we feel. Now, as I’m sure we are all too painfully aware, life is not always happy or easy, but God is faithful to us, even when we struggle to be faithful to Him.
Prayer does not always come easily, we recognise that, so did St Paul! “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26). What a fantastic promise we pray, the Holy Spirit takes our prayer to the very throne of heaven, and God listens.
Longer prayers allow us to talk to God more, to say more of what we want to say, and to bring ourselves closer to God, but prayer doesn’t have to be long, convoluted and full of bible quotes and lofty words. Sometimes short sentences are all we need or can manage. A quick, “Hello” or “Help” said to God is enough. Look at Psalm 139, the Lord knows us from our mother’s womb and it doesn’t matter where we are. In good and in bad, the Lord is with us.
Examples of these sorts of “bullet” prayers are:
- “Jesu Mercy”
- “Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison” (“Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy”)
- “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
- “Help me God”
- “Lord I love you”
Maybe you are more like I am? I use a set of formulaic prayers to help me pray. I like the ritual and formula of the daily office, or set of services and readings. It connects me with fellow Christians throughout the world, and throughout time, with all those who have or will use the same office, and having it on my mobile in the form of an “app” means that I am taking an entire prayer book in my pocket. In fact I’m taking the bible, a couple of other prayer books and some meditation apps with me too. There are many resources available, it's about finding what’s right for you.
If physical books are more your thing, then there are many books of prayer available for us to use. Again, it’s a matter of picking one that suits your own style. And for many there is contemporaneous prayer, where we just speak to God, telling Him whatever is in our hearts and in our heads. Many people find that just “chatting” to God as they go about their daily lives is what they need.
And of course there is always the model prayer, the one Christ Himself taught us, also known as “The Lord’s Prayer”. (See the start of Luke 11)
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
The traditional words of the Lord’s Prayer, that many will know are;
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
I hope that this has been helpful and that you may find something in this that helps you in your daily prayer. I know it’s not got all the answers and that I’ve definitely not got all the answers, but I hope it’s a start! Please pray, daily, regularly, and remember, every conversation starts with a single word. We just have to ask, God will hear.