Spiritual Disciplines- Prayer
We are continuing with our sermon series on the Spiritual Disciplines. This week we are looking at the discipline of prayer.
Prayer is such a massive topic that we really can only scratch the surface. There are a lot of good books out there on prayer if you want to dive a bit deeper. One I would recommend is called “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home” by Richard Foster.
He delves into many different types of prayer. And just as there are many kinds of prayer, there are also a number of different kinds of techniques to enter into prayer that Christians have used throughout the centuries (I will place a few of these below).
Prayer is absolutely foundational to the Christian life. Jesus was a man of prayer- as were his followers. Therefore, so should we be.
Prayer is absolutely foundational to the Christian life. Jesus was a man of prayer- as were his followers. Therefore, so should we be.
With so much variety around prayer it might be helpful to have some specific and practical helps. This is what I tend to suggest. (I realize that many of you have your own patterns, and if you find that helpful feel free to ignore me). I think we should aim at 20 minutes of intentional prayer per day. Some find it easier in the morning, and some find it easier at night. Regardless of when, do try to find a consistent time and stick to it. I know some days just get away from us, but I think that that 20 minutes every day at the same time of day is what we should generally aim at. As you delve into the life of prayer some of you will have times of prayer that last an hour or more and that’s great. Sometimes it will feel like 5 minutes. You might also find that 5 minutes can feel like an hour. Your prayer life will shift with what is going on in your life. You will probably pray differently as a parent with young kids at home, than you would as a retired person, or as a single person. You might also find that different types of prayer seem to work better for you at different times of your life. (There is even a book that helps you to match a prayer style to your Myers Briggs personality type- "Prayer and Temperament")
You might also find your heart drawing towards God throughout the day outside of your set times of prayer. I remember having a season in my life when it felt like my heart was burning through my chest. I had this intense desire to find somewhere private to pray- I remember locking myself in a washroom or mechanical room so I could pray. Words weren’t always a part of those times of prayer. Often it was like an inner groaning (which I think might be what Paul is referring to in Romans 8). That’s not an unusual experience for new converts. I think God gives them a special grace to motivate them to chase Him.
Prayer can look like many different things. Prayer can be sitting in silence as you seek the presence of God. Prayer can be a child on their bed praying for their family. (The payer that Jesus taught his disciples is simple enough that a child can pray it and understand it- and deep enough that theologians can spend their lives digging into its depths.) Prayer can be written like Morning and Evening Prayer that we have in our prayer books. Or, it can be a spontaneous conversation. Even with written prayers there should probably be some spontaneous prayer mixed in. Prayer can include a list of people or concerns you wish to pray to God about, but it should also include times of listening, so God has an opportunity to speak back. Prayer can also be the repetition of a line from a Psalm as you walk along that draws your heart up to God. There is tremendous variety when it comes to prayer.
The topic of prayer really is a massive world and we could have a whole sermon series just on this topic. At its most simple, prayer is reaching out to God. It is seeking to strengthen your relationship with God. It is foundational to the Christian life because the Christian life is a life in co-operation with God that will never end. We seek to know who God is, personally, because we are going to be spending eternity with God. If we never seek out God’s presence, why do we think we would want to seek Him out when we reach our death? Seeking God’s presence is not something to be delayed.
Prayer also reorients our perspective. Prayer helps us see things from God’s perspective. In our first reading, when Elisha prayed for God to open the eyes of the man who was with him. His perspective changed. He previously saw the army of the enemy surrounding them, but now he saw an angelic army that greatly outnumbered the army he had been afraid of (2 Kings 6:17). Often, prayer is about changing us. It is about seeing God’s way of looking at our situation. Prayer is where we meet with God and are transformed. It is where we bring our lives to God, not as we wish they were, but as they are with all our pain, passion, and problems. Prayer is a part of our life before God, the goal of which is to love and serve God and to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. Prayer helps to make us holy by transforming our character- our will, desires, motives, and behaviors.
Prayer changes us. Prayer can also change the world outside us. There have even been some scientific studies in the area of prayer. A doctor named Larry Dossey wrote a book called “Healing Words” where he describes these studies.
As an agnostic medical doctor he came to the following conclusion after looking at these studies,
“over time I decided that not to employ prayer with my patients was the equivalent of deliberately withholding a potent drug or surgical procedure. … I simply could not ignore the evidence for prayer’s effectiveness without feeling like a traitor to the scientific tradition. And so, after weighing these factors for many months, I concluded that I would pray for my patients” (Xviii). “[T]he evidence is simply overwhelming that prayer functions at a distance to change physical processes in a variety of organisms, from bacteria to humans. These data, …, are so impressive that I have come to regard them as among the best-kept secrets in medical science” (p.2).
He believes the studies show that when lifting a person in prayer- with an attitude of empathy, love, compassion, trust, and gratitude- that prayer is effective.
This doesn’t mean that the results of prayer can always be predicted, but he found that the studies say that overall prayer has an effect. Of course, there are still “sickly saints and healthy sinners” that show us that the spiritual world is a complicated place. Sometimes the deeper healing of the soul takes priority over physical healing. For example, Paul had a “thorn in his flesh” that would not be healed, which he came to believe was allowed for the development of his humility (2 Cor 12:7). Our character will outlast our earthly life, so I suspect our character is the priority for God. There is a lot of mystery mixed with the suffering of the world. We shouldn't pretend to understand it all, or to minimize it. We live in a world that is often beyond our control, but that should not stop us from praying.
This doesn’t mean that the results of prayer can always be predicted, but he found that the studies say that overall prayer has an effect. Of course, there are still “sickly saints and healthy sinners” that show us that the spiritual world is a complicated place. Sometimes the deeper healing of the soul takes priority over physical healing. For example, Paul had a “thorn in his flesh” that would not be healed, which he came to believe was allowed for the development of his humility (2 Cor 12:7). Our character will outlast our earthly life, so I suspect our character is the priority for God. There is a lot of mystery mixed with the suffering of the world. We shouldn't pretend to understand it all, or to minimize it. We live in a world that is often beyond our control, but that should not stop us from praying.
The fact that prayer doesn’t always bring physical healing doesn’t refute the fact that sometimes it does bring healing. We don’t understand how it all works, but sometimes it works and so we should pray for healing while also understanding that there are deeper purposes that might mean healing will not always come. There may be a deeper purpose in suffering that is beyond our ability to comprehend.
We also have to be careful to not think about prayer as a technology we use to get our will done. As if we just say the right words we can get what we want done. We can’t lose sight of the fact that prayer is about a relationship with God.
Sometimes I think about my relationship with my boys. I hope that my sons are not primarily concerned with manipulating me to get me to give them candy or buy them toys. Though, no doubt, toys and candy pass through their minds from time to time. I hope that they are more concerned with us being together because we love each other. That doesn’t mean they should never ask me for anything. It just means that the asking is embedded in a relationship. The relationship with my sons is not primarily about them asking me for things, but that is a normal part of a parent-child relationship.
When my sons make a request of me I can respond in one of three ways. I can say “yes”, “no”, or “not now”.
If I say “yes” then that means that my son has asked me within the realm of my will. If I tell my boys to go play outside in the back yard they could be doing a variety of things and still be “in my will”. Being “in my will” doesn’t mean I have defined exactly which game they play and how they play it. There is a range of things they could be doing. They also know that I don’t want them to hurt each other and start throwing punches at each other’s noses. I also don’t want them playing in the street, or to do anything dangerous that could lead to them getting seriously hurt. So, there is a range of things that they could be doing and still be in my will if I tell them to go in the back yard and play.[1] I think this is similar to how God works. I think we can be doing a number of things and still be in the range of God’s will.
If my sons ask me for ice cream. I might say “yes” if it is in the realm of my will, which means that it fits into the overall context of my will for them.
There are times when God does say “yes” to a request in prayer. When we ask “in Jesus’ name” what we are doing is we are asking as Jesus’ disciples, who are learning to live with his desires becoming our desires and his life living within us. Praying in the name of Jesus means having a sense of God’s will and what God wants to happen in the world. Amazingly, God has chosen to work through prayer. We have been given the privilege and opportunity to cooperate with God through prayer. I’m sure we have very little understanding of the power of our prayer in effecting the world.
I might also say “no” to my sons' request for ice cream. If, for example, we are close to the time we will be eating supper. I don’t want them to spoil their appetite, so I’ll say “no”. I will deny them this not because I don’t want them to have good things, but because I want better things for them. Having a healthy diet is more important than having a treat. I also know that too much ice cream can sometimes cause a stomach ache, or can become unhealthy. So, while my sons might see my saying “no” as being mean, the reason I say “no” is because I want something better for them, or want to prevent future pain they can’t see.
Similarly, God might say “no” in response to our requests in prayer. We might be denied certain requests because there might be effects on our soul, or on the souls of others, that would be undesirable.
When my sons ask me for ice cream I might also say “not now”. I may have planned for us to go for ice cream after supper. At home we might have had ice cream cones. Maybe the ice cream is the bottom of the bucket, melted and refrozen 8 times, kind of ice cream. And maybe I was planning on getting hot fudge Sundays after supper. So, I might ask them to wait because the timing isn’t right.
Similarly, God might respond with “not now” to our prayer requests. God sees the bigger picture and he can see that now isn’t the right time, or that he has something better planned for you in the future. This can be a difficult answer to hear because it seems like such a decent request to us. At times we really have to trust that God has a greater understanding than we do and that He answers prayer according to what is best for us and for others.
Again, we want to be careful to remember that prayer is about a relationship with God, not merely a way to manipulate God to get what we want. There is a certain mystery to all this, but it remains that we are invited by God to pray and to be his people praying for ourselves and for the world. And by doing so we participate in God’s work in the world. AMEN
[1] I once heard Dallas Willard teach on this point
Some practical experiments with ways to pray:
The most simple I have found is to pray concerning things you
(1) are thankful for and
(2) things you need help with, or help you want God to give others.
You can do this with children, but it can also be a profound prayer for everyone.
There are also apps for your smart phone for Morning Prayer, and Evening Prayer (often called the Daily Offices).
There are also PDFs (electronic documents) found here
https://www.anglican.ca/about/liturgicaltexts/
https://www.anglican.ca/about/liturgicaltexts/trialuse/
https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/how-to-use-daily-office/
Sacred Reading (Lectio Divina)
Words of scripture come alive as they touch the Holy Spirit alive and working in us. This is the same Spirit that inspired the writing, gathering, and editing of the Bible.
Usually we read for information- to explain, or to be entertained. Lectio Divina is a way of reading that places us under the text, rather than us being over it as controllers and consumers. In Lectio Divina we are not attempting to gain information in order to describe God, or get God to do what we want, or even to master the “text”. Rather, in Lectio Divina we are allowing the “Text” to master us- to allow God to speak to us directly through the Word of God.
The Egyptian Orthodox monk ‘Matthew the Poor’ talks about ways of reading the Bible. He says, “There are two ways of reading:
The 4 elements of Lectio Divina are
Sacred Reading (Lectio Divina)
Words of scripture come alive as they touch the Holy Spirit alive and working in us. This is the same Spirit that inspired the writing, gathering, and editing of the Bible.
Usually we read for information- to explain, or to be entertained. Lectio Divina is a way of reading that places us under the text, rather than us being over it as controllers and consumers. In Lectio Divina we are not attempting to gain information in order to describe God, or get God to do what we want, or even to master the “text”. Rather, in Lectio Divina we are allowing the “Text” to master us- to allow God to speak to us directly through the Word of God.
The Egyptian Orthodox monk ‘Matthew the Poor’ talks about ways of reading the Bible. He says, “There are two ways of reading:
“The first is when a man reads and puts himself and his mind in control of the text, trying to subject its meaning to his own understanding and then comparing it with the understanding of others.
“The second is when a man puts the text on a level above himself and tries to bring his mind into submission to its meaning, and even sets the text up as a judge over him, counting it as the highest criterion.
“The first is suitable for any book in the world, whether it be a work of science or of literature. The second is indispensable in reading the Bible. The first way gives man mastery over the world, which is his natural role. The second gives God mastery as the all-wise and all powerful Creator.
“But if man confuses the roles of these two methods, he stands to lose from them both, for if he reads science and literature as he should read the Gospel, he grows small in stature, his academic ability diminishes, and his dignity among the rest of creation dwindles.
“And if he reads the Bible as he should read science, he understands and feels God to be small; the divine being appears limited and his awesomeness fades. We acquire a false sense of our own superiority over divine things- the very same forbidden thing Adam committed in the beginning.” (p 16) Matthew the Poor, the Communion of Love.
The 4 elements of Lectio Divina are
1) reading;
2) meditation;
3) prayer; and
4) contemplation.
Reading: First choose a piece of scripture that you would like to pray with, or use a reading for the day from a reading plan. This is not reading for entertainment or reading for gathering information. This is allowing God to speak to you through scripture. Try to use a Bible that has no distractions in it (e.g. notes, highlights, or underlining). Also, try to use a translation that is easy to read. Try to do this in a quiet place with no distractions. Begin with a prayer requesting God’s presence and direction. Repeatedly read the passage slowly.
Read only what the words say. Don’t read into it. Let the words stand on their own. Slow down and get the words right. Humble yourself before the words.
Meditation: We move from looking at the words of the text to entering the world of the text. As we take this text into ourselves, we find that the text takes us into itself. Scripture is connected and interconnected- not separate bits and pieces. Jesus is the context with which to read scripture. Move from being a critic on the outside of the text, to being inside and appreciating and noticing what you see. Be a curious child. Allow your memory to be active, drawing images from your life and from other parts of Scripture.
Prayer: is language used in relation to God. God reveals himself personally through language. We pray shaped by and in the name of Jesus. God speaks to us, and listens to us. We are most ourselves when we pray. Scripture is our most normative access to God.
Pay attention to what is happening inside of you as you read. What parts do you like? What parts don’t you like? Why? What associations or memories are triggered by the reading? Try not to edit your thoughts, just let them be, and discern what God is trying to say to you. What part of the reading seems to stand out? Why? What are the underlying values and assumptions of the scripture? What feelings arise in you? Continue to ask God for guidance. What is behind your emotions? Where is the reading touching your life?
Contemplation: this means living the read/meditated/prayed Scriptures in everyday ordinary life. It means getting the scriptures into our bones. Contemplation means living what we read- being conscious of it in the moment. Life originates from God’s Word. In contemplation we let God’s word flow through us and become life.[1]
Summary:
1st Reading- Read- What does it say? What are the meaning of the words? Don’t read into it.
2nd reading- Meditation- allow yourself to be drawn into the text. Where is your mind drawn? What do you notice? Allow your curiosity to draw you in.
3rd Reading- Prayer- What might God being saying to you through this text? What is standing out and why? Where does it connect with your life? What memories or emotions are triggered?
4th Reading- Contemplation- how might you apply this text to your life? How might you live this text? Are you to act or think in a new way?
[1] See “Spiritual Reading” in Dictionary of Christian Spirituality.
http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/
http://www.osb.org/lectio/about.html
The Jesus Prayer-
The words of this prayer are “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”, or “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. It is best to practice this in a quiet place away from distractions. It may be helpful to match your breathing with the words of this prayer. Breathing in pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God”, and breathing out pray, “have mercy on me, a sinner”. Sit in a comfortable position and try to be still.
Reading: First choose a piece of scripture that you would like to pray with, or use a reading for the day from a reading plan. This is not reading for entertainment or reading for gathering information. This is allowing God to speak to you through scripture. Try to use a Bible that has no distractions in it (e.g. notes, highlights, or underlining). Also, try to use a translation that is easy to read. Try to do this in a quiet place with no distractions. Begin with a prayer requesting God’s presence and direction. Repeatedly read the passage slowly.
Read only what the words say. Don’t read into it. Let the words stand on their own. Slow down and get the words right. Humble yourself before the words.
Meditation: We move from looking at the words of the text to entering the world of the text. As we take this text into ourselves, we find that the text takes us into itself. Scripture is connected and interconnected- not separate bits and pieces. Jesus is the context with which to read scripture. Move from being a critic on the outside of the text, to being inside and appreciating and noticing what you see. Be a curious child. Allow your memory to be active, drawing images from your life and from other parts of Scripture.
Prayer: is language used in relation to God. God reveals himself personally through language. We pray shaped by and in the name of Jesus. God speaks to us, and listens to us. We are most ourselves when we pray. Scripture is our most normative access to God.
Pay attention to what is happening inside of you as you read. What parts do you like? What parts don’t you like? Why? What associations or memories are triggered by the reading? Try not to edit your thoughts, just let them be, and discern what God is trying to say to you. What part of the reading seems to stand out? Why? What are the underlying values and assumptions of the scripture? What feelings arise in you? Continue to ask God for guidance. What is behind your emotions? Where is the reading touching your life?
Contemplation: this means living the read/meditated/prayed Scriptures in everyday ordinary life. It means getting the scriptures into our bones. Contemplation means living what we read- being conscious of it in the moment. Life originates from God’s Word. In contemplation we let God’s word flow through us and become life.[1]
Summary:
1st Reading- Read- What does it say? What are the meaning of the words? Don’t read into it.
2nd reading- Meditation- allow yourself to be drawn into the text. Where is your mind drawn? What do you notice? Allow your curiosity to draw you in.
3rd Reading- Prayer- What might God being saying to you through this text? What is standing out and why? Where does it connect with your life? What memories or emotions are triggered?
4th Reading- Contemplation- how might you apply this text to your life? How might you live this text? Are you to act or think in a new way?
[1] See “Spiritual Reading” in Dictionary of Christian Spirituality.
http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/
http://www.osb.org/lectio/about.html
The Jesus Prayer-
The words of this prayer are “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”, or “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. It is best to practice this in a quiet place away from distractions. It may be helpful to match your breathing with the words of this prayer. Breathing in pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God”, and breathing out pray, “have mercy on me, a sinner”. Sit in a comfortable position and try to be still.
Centering Prayer-
This prayer is essentially attempting to still one’s self, while also being aware of what is taking place inside one’s self. Sit with your eyes closed or just slightly open. Try to relax completely while maintaining a comfortable posture. Let go of all thoughts about the past or the future. Release any tension you notice in your body. Choose a short word and focus on it (e.g. “God”, “love”, “Jesus”). Feel free to let go of the word as long as you are not distracted by thoughts, memories, or sensations. However, whenever you do get distracted, gently bring yourself back to this word. Try to maintain this practice for at least 20 minutes. Give yourself some time to gently come out of the prayer, perhaps using this time to express your thankfulness to God in prayer, or repeating the Lord’s Prayer.
Another way is to, similarly, sit comfortably in a quiet place. Choose a phrase to repeat “Ma-ra-na-tha” (Aramaic, “come, Lord”), or “Come, Lord Jesus”. Close your eyes and quiet yourself. Keep repeating the phrase for at least twenty minutes. Allow the phrase to form a rhythm with your breath. Focus on becoming inwardly peaceful and resting quietly in God’s presence.
http://www.centeringprayer.com/
http://www.wccm.org
Meditation
“Meditation” is sometimes distinguished from “Contemplation”. Contemplation is more like Centering Prayer where the content of the prayer is the silence itself. The silence and emptiness is noticed to be neither silent, nor, empty, but filled with God’s presence. “Meditation”, on the other hand, has content that we meditate on. We turn it over in our minds. This content can be a passage from the Bible- a concept, an event, etc. Be careful of dividing these two methods of prayer too much though.
One method of meditation guides one into one’s self using the imagination and the senses. This type often uses an image or biblical story as a guide. If you are using a biblical passage (e.g. Mark 4:35-41, “Jesus calms the storm), walk yourself through it slowly. Imagine the setting using your five senses. What does it look like? What time of day is it? What does it smell like? What does it sound like when you are with the crowd? On the sea before the storm? During the storm? After the storm? Walk yourself through the story slowly, what is Jesus doing during these moments?
The Examination
(You may receive the most benefit from this practice if you have a spiritual director). Begin by giving thanks to God for the grace received in your life. Then continue by asking for the illumination of one’s sins and short-comings, and pray for the grace to grow past them. Examine yourself in thoughts and actions during this day- what you have done and what you have neglected to do. Take your time and go through the day slowly- from waking to this moment. Examine your life looking for sin and virtue.
Compare your thoughts and actions with; prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, goodness, gentleness, modesty, self-control, chastity, humility, and diligence.
Compare your thoughts and actions with; pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.
Or, you may try comparing you life and day to the Ten Commandments, being careful to spend time on each one. You might want to also try slowly moving through the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, or word by word. Or, compare your life to a list of the disciplines. Try to notice where God has been present in your day, and where you think He has been absent.
Pray for forgiveness for the sins committed and ask to be strengthened in virtue for the glory of God and for the good of the spreading of the Kingdom. End with the “Our Father”.
Icons
Find a picture that will help you pray. This could be a picture of Jesus, or of a biblical scene. Keep in mind that you are not praying to the painting, you are praying through it. While true icons follow a specific style, you may find other pictures useful as well. As you pray allow yourself to enter the icon- be drawn in by it. Use the icon in a similar way that you use scripture- it is not the specific words that matter, it’s what they mean. Examine the details of the painting, think about the symbolism. For example, if it is an Icon of Jesus, why are Jesus’ eyes like this? If Jesus was looking at you like this, what would he be thinking? What would you be thinking and feeling? If you were actually face to face with Jesus in a really physical way, what would you say to him? What would he say to you? Try to lose yourself in the painting.
http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/Icons_and_Frescoes/Icons/Jesus_Christ/
Journaling
Journaling can be used with other practices like the examination, sacred reading, or meditation. Begin with prayer, adoring God, Thanking God, and asking God to guide you in your exploration. Go through your day and try to write down the times when you felt God was close and when you felt God was far. What did you do today that you think God cares about most? What did you do today that you think God didn’t care about at all? What have you been praying about lately? Write down your prayers. Write a conversation with God. What is on your heart? What is something you are thankful for? What is something that is bothering you? What reoccurring issues do you struggle with? What sin is most present in your life? What virtue is most present? What is God saying back to you? Can you write God’s part in the conversation? You may want to try looking at a piece of scripture and interact with it using your journal. What questions do you have about the scripture? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? What are your fears? What issues tend to come up in your interactions with people? Who is your hero? In what ways are you like your hero? In what ways are you not like your hero? End the session with a short time of prayer, thanking God for what has been revealed, and asking for assistance to form your life to who you were created to be.
Body Prayers
Try praying in different positions. Try kneeling, standing, laying prostrate on the ground. Try kneeling with your hands in the air, standing with your hands in the air, sitting with you arms in from of you, as if you are about to receive something. Try praying in “orans” position. Try walking and praying- rhythmically match you breathing with your walking and praying (it may be best to have a memorized prayer, short phrase, or word for this). Try swaying or rocking. Try walking a labyrinth (one is located at the Eaton Centre on Queen and Yonge). Try bending and stretching with your prayers. Try dancing your prayers. Repeatedly make the sign of the cross as you pray. Be conscious of how a different posture changes how you pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxWOfNqobNY
http://contemplativefire.org
The Anglican Rosary
The Anglican Rosary is a rope with knots or beads that guide one through a series of repetitive prayers. The Rosary has four weeks (7 beads) separated by a cruciform bead. The Rosary aids prayer by serving as a tactile reminder, bringing one's attention back to the prayers. Suggested prayers for the beads are supplied by the website bellow, or you can assign your own prayers to the weeks, cruciform beads, invitatory bead, and crucifix. Attempt to commit the prayers to memory, and pray around the circle of beads at a steady pace, matching one's breath with the words of the prayers. Also, remember to allow space for moments of silence. Rosaries are supplied by a few places, but you can also make them yourself (see the website).
Listening Prayer
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