Rector’s Daily Reflections
Thursday 29th February 2024
Learning More About Prayer
Yesterday, I shared some reflections on the relationships which lie at the heart of prayer: our relationship with ourself, with one another and with God. Today I wish to share thoughts on the importance of preparation.
If we are to expect to have a rich and satisfying prayer life, we should not expect God to have to do all the work. We need to lay the foundations ourselves– to do the necessary preparatory work, so we are ready for a conversation with God.
How might we prepare ourselves for a time of prayer? There are many different answers to this, and different approaches work for different people. For some people, it is helpful to go a quiet place where we know we won’t be disturbed- a church building is usually ideal for these purposes. Others might find the necessary quiet time by going on a walk. Some people like to get themselves in the mood for prayer by playing some relaxing music or by lighting a candle. Another way of preparing ourselves for prayer is by reading a portion of the bible, or a section from a favourite spiritual writer.
Some people find it helpful to have a regular routine for their prayer lives, for example they develop a discipline of saying prayers as soon as they get up in the morning, or last thing at night before they go to bed.
And, for some people, preparation for prayer can take a rather surprising form. For some people, true prayer is what happens after we have said the words of our prayers. We might say the words of a prayer or two, but these words are only to get us in the mood- to prepare ourselves to speak with God and to listen to what He might have to say to us. I often find that this is my experience - I feel I only really start to pray after the words of the spoken prayers have ended, and there is silence. I wonder if you have had this experience, too? The words of the spoken prayers have been important, but their role has been to bring us into the presence of Jesus. Spoken prayers are like the ministry of John the Baptist: their role is to point us to an encounter with the Lord Jesus.
I wonder how we prepare ourselves for a time of prayer? Do we think seriously enough about this work of preparation?
I will share some further thoughts on this topic in tomorrow’s reflections.