teach me to pray 2

Yesterday I shared my belief that prayer begins with communal and liturgical prayer. This provides a language system for listening to God and a model for talking. I think that the former is the most vital aspect of prayer. We are to LISTEN to God in prayer. Most of us are not great listeners so that means prayer will be hard. (God also tends to whisper much of the time) In seminary I heard once that prayer is "wasting time with God" and I think that is a helpful thing to keep in mind. When we pray the most important thing we can do is be present for God and open to Him. It is time spent "with" in much the same way that we sit with a friend or family member. Sometimes the silence speaks more eloquently than any words.

My understanding of Jesus' spirituality is that He was an active Jew, quite at home with prayer formulas and 'liturgy.' This is foreign to many Christians. Some even frown on it. That is fine. I have actively sought to integrate the catholic spirituality (found in Roman and Anglican churches in the west) and over the years I have come to see the wisdom of such prayer. However, I do not want to rehash yesterday, so today I want to move onto other prayer forms.

First a word about "personal" prayer. Personal does not mean individual. I can read a prayer, "the Lord is my shepherd" and just say the words, or make the words my own. In reality, I would NEVER come up with those words on my own. However, there are few words more powerful to me when talking about God. So to read the word and integrate it into my own spirituality is an act of personalizing. Nothing can be more beautiful or powerful.

While ALL prayer is done as a member of the church (the body of believers) not all prayer is communal. Sometimes we pray alone. Thomas Merton wrote about this fifty years ago. He was a hermit who in his isolation found himself more actively and consciously aware that his prayer was in the church (and with & for the church). It was hard for me to understand as a young man. Today it is clearer.

Because I pray as a member of  the church I use the words "our" and "us" frequently. In my private prayer I try to be quiet. I do not hear voices or receive messages. I often times struggle with wandering thoughts. I sometimes fall asleep (recently more often, babies have a way of disrupting a night's sleep). Whatever challenges I face or failures I experience, I remind myself that prayer is NOT a task for which I get a grade. Prayer is not ranked according to beauty or creativity. Prayer is availing myself for the Lord. If The Father decides to make that contact amazing, so be it. It is not in my control. Good prayer is not always emotional. A 'high' is no proof that God was around. I can manipulate my feelings so they are not a safe measure of self investment. God is the judge of my prayer. So it is in His hands.

Take a few breaths. Ask the Holy Spirit to make your prayer time real prayer. Ask Jesus to offer you in Himself to the Father. Thank God that the CREATOR of the WHOLE UNIVERSE will take time to be with a tiny, insignificant person like me/you. (ponder that one) Thank the Lord endlessly, a dozen, two dozen, fifty times. List things for which you are greatful. Your finger nails. Your liver. Your eyes. The laughter of a child. The lined face of your grandma. The sun. The rain. Cottage cheese and yogurt. Ballet and music. (you get the point). Focus on thanks leads easily to praise. Praise and worship are the primary task of the church. When I am alone I am entitled to continue that work. Having thanked and praised for an extended time, I calm and quiet. I breath. I ask God to talk to me ("Speak Lord your servant is listening). Then I read the bible. Usually a chapter. I ask questions: who, what, when, where, how....why? I ask what I should know from the reading. I ask what I should pray for from the reading. I ask what I should do from the reading. This exchange or conversation between me and the Bible, God's word, is my prefered way to listen.

Bible & quiet time are a perfect match with thanks and praise. It can take five minutes or five hours. It can be awesome or mundane. It does not matter. What matters is it is time with God, time for God. If the Bible is hard to understand, find parts that are easy. Or just read and sit there and see what God does. And be PATIENT. It is a work of a lifetime and preparation for eternity.