THE RHYTHM OF PRAYER
Throughout our training we have taking a look at different practices and rhythms that will put us in a place to receive Gods grace (exactly what we need from God exactly when we need it). As simple as many of these practices sound and can be, they are also wonderfully deep, as well as profoundly mysterious and frustrating.
We addressed that learning to rest is actually quite difficult and requires us to learn to set boundaries and plan for it. Then we explored creating a space for us to be quiet and listen when everything in this world seeks to rush in and fill that space with noise. We've also talked about how something like reading the bible can be done multiple ways. So we've set the table well for us to begin to talk about prayer. Again, our desire is to not complicate it when there are times when it can be just like having a heartfelt impromptu conversation with a dear friend.
3 JOURNEYS IN PRAYER
However, it's been my experience that there are three journeys people often take when it comes to prayer.
LEARN TO PRAY LIKE A CONVERSATION
Like I mentioned a moment ago, this way of learning to pray is based on simply having a conversation with God. We talk to him like he's a friend. We tell him what we're grateful for, we ask him for things, we tell him what's on our mind. Often times, when we feel like we need to grow a little more in our experience of prayer we may move to the next kind of prayer.
LEARN TO PRAY WITH A MODEL
Many people have learned to pray using the model of A.C.T.S. This acronym stands for Adoration (saying why God is great), Confession (admitting and telling our sin to God and asking for forgiveness), Thanksgiving (telling God what you're grateful for), and finally Supplication (asking God for things for ourselves and for others). Another helpful acronym that is used in the Rooted program is P.R.A.Y. This stands for Praise, Repent, Ask, and Yield. I like the Y in yield because it recommends that we "be quiet after you have spoken to God and to listen to what He might want to say to you." I personally used this model for years and occasionally come back to it. The idea is that we are given these models to use much like a ladder for our words, this step, then this step, then this step. Then there are others who
LEARN TO PRAY WITH LITURGY
This way of praying is much more common for those who have grown up in a liturgical or formal form of worship. These prayers often include well known prayers like theLord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. Additionally, they be used to reading written prayers from the book of common prayer and other resources. There are specific prayers for each thing someone might want to say.
For example, a traditional prayer of confession that many would know would say
"Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen."
As you can see, there is a deep intentionality of saying things we might not normally say.
WANTING MORE...
Regardless of where you start, I have also found that for many, there comes a point where the forms of prayer we have used don't seem to fit us well anymore. We find ourselves either dissatisfied with our prayer life and long for something more, or we get frustrated and resign ourselves and think maybe we're just bad at praying. We want more out of our prayer life. More depth. More connection. More experience of Jesus.
For those who have primarily expressed prayer through a conversational type of prayer may start to explore prayer through written liturgy. This has been my experience. There are mornings where I know I want to pray but I simply don't have words. Additionally, by praying through written words of liturgy I find myself saying things that I wouldn't normally say, but actually need to say. The confessional above is a good one. When I pray I confess that I have sinned in things "left undone" it reminds me to think of times I should have done something that would have honored God and chose not to. Additionally, when I pray these written words often, they work themselves into my mind and stick so that they come out more often in my conversational prayers.
If you're not sure where to start, I would recommend a prayer that Brian Zahnd has compiled for his own use that comes from his book Water to Wine. While I don't agree with him on a couple key areas of theology in other areas, I found this resource to mirror my own experience. Here is a printable version of his prayer but I encourage you that if you use it to purchase his book. If you start using it, be aware it's a pretty good lengthy so you can start small and simply pray until you're ready to stop. It's not about getting through it. It's about getting it into you and about showing up.
On the other hand, for those who have mostly expressed prayer through written liturgy, they may start to explore prayer in a more conversational way. If we're not careful, using written prayers can start to feel stale and unattached and it may be important to branch out and try simply talking to God like he's your friend.
One great way to do this might be to start by blending your practice. Take one of the more well known prayers that you have grown up with, maybe like the Lords Prayer and pray the first line "our father who art in heaven" and then pray conversationally. God thank you for being my father. I'm grateful for the way that you have loved me as your child. It's good to remember that I can approach you with confidence because you're my papa. Then when you've said what you want to say from that line move on to the next. "Hallowed by thy name." Your name is precious to me Father. I want your name to be famous in the world. I want people to love and revere you. Then keep moving down the line. By the way, you don't have to make it all the way through the lords prayer. Again, it's about showing up and connecting, but about accomplishing. God's not worried about whether you finish the prayer. He just wants to hear from you.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
Over the years I have come to realize that while prayer can be very simple, it can also be rich and complex. Much like learning to have good conversations in normal relationships with others where listening well, being attentive, and not dominating a conversation are important, those things also apply to prayer. How do we listen for God's voice well? How do we pay attention and not be distracted and miss what God may be saying because we are focused on what we want to say? How do we make sure that prayer is not all one sided with us doing the majority of the talking?
The more you dig into it, the more you will find that Christians over the last 2,000 years have practiced prayer in many different ways to address these issues. Since I can't cover all of them, let me give you two ways of practicing rhythms of prayer that have been especially powerful for me and may help you as you take your next steps in your journey of connecting with God through prayer.
In our next two posts we will cover PRAYING SCRIPTURE, and praying the PRAYER OF EXAMEN.