One dictionary definition is that prayer is a solemn request or thanksgiving to God or an object of worship. But it is so much more than that, and I’d challenge the use of the word solemn. Prayer can be joyful, exuberant, exhilarating.
We’ll all have our own ways of praying – a way that suits us. We’re all different and there’s really no right or wrong way to pray, to communicate with God. From my point of view, when I’m alone and praying, I can waffle on for ages having a sort of a chat with God. But if I’m in company and have no ‘script’ in front of me, I find it really difficult to pray ‘off the top of my head’ so to speak. I am getting a bit better and I hope that over the course of time I will be able to pray fluently. But at the moment, my brain tends to freeze up and I end up spouting gobbledy-gook, quite frankly.But you know, that doesn’t matter! God doesn’t mind that I’m talking what sounds like gibberish – He’s not judging me. It’s me judging myself. And we are told that God knows our needs before we ask Him, even before we do. He knows exactly what we want, He just likes us to ask Him. And it doesn’t matter if we’re not always kneeling or sitting devoutly. God doesn’t judge our stance – He just longs for us to come to Him, just as we are, without polished prayer but with hearts of raw human weakness. While walking, driving, washing up, heck – even in the shower! We can come to Him in the midst of life as it is happening, whenever, wherever. We don’t have to wait to be in church or even in our favourite arm chair. God is always there, ready to listen, and to speak with us.
So, some of us may struggle with prayer, with how to pray. Peter Greig, author of ‘How to Pray’ writes ‘…finally, you turn to God, half wondering whether you’re any more than half serious and say “Lord, teach me to pray”. And He replies “I thought you’d never ask!”’ The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus teaches us the Lord’s Prayer, right at the start of today’s gospel.Prayer is so very often us asking something from God, it’s almost as if we’re trying to persuade Him to act in a way we want. Or it’s even as though we’re trying to change His mind. We have a tendency to believe that we know best and that what we ask for is the best for us and that we are looking to sway God to our way of thinking. But it’s not – it’s the other way around. It’s God wanting to change us and prayer helps us to do that, a kind of tuning in to God’s will, with the Holy Spirit that is dwelling within us, which will form us more and more to the person/people God intends us to be.
Prayer also involves listening to God – spending time quietly, listening for Him to ‘speak’ with us. But how do we hear God? He may not respond by using the sound of a human voice like He does in many Old Testament stories, but He speaks to us clearly through His Word, our daily bread, our daily sustenance – our spiritual sustenance. I am sure, too, that we hear Him in the sound of the wind, rain, sea, birdsong and see Him in the wonder of nature all around us.In his book ‘How to Pray’ Pete Greig uses the acronym PRAY – P-R-A-Y to help us if we need some form of structure.
P – pause. The power of the pause; to still our minds ready to spend time with God.R – rejoice. ‘Hallowed be Thy name’ Very important to appreciate the bigness of God. Rejoice in His blessings and all that He is doing for us.A – ask. ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done’ and ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ We may ask for ourselves (petitionary prayer) or on behalf of others (intercessory prayer). It doesn’t matter – God wants us to ask.Y – yield. Surrender ourselves to God. ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver is from evil.’ God we are in Your hands – Your will be done. Our prayers may, or may not, be answered. It may happen immediately or take ages, but what we need to remember is that God’s timing is perfect.Looking again at the Lord’s Prayer, we begin by saying OUR Father – not my Father. The Lord’s Prayer is for everyone, from us for everyone. It asks that everyone be fed; that everyone be reconciled with God and each other. It is a reminder that we are all important to God and that we are challenged to welcomestrangers, to love one another and to dismantle barriers between us. It also asks us to love our enemies – that’s a tricky one. And it asks us to forgive those who have sinned against us. And that is a very tricky one. But Christianity is about forgiveness among many other things.When we end our prayers, we say Amen – which basically means ‘I agree’. So, we’re effectively signing our name at the end of the prayer – whatever it is that we have prayed we are confirming that we agree to it. But do we actually agree to what we’ve prayed for or are we saying Amen just because it is the way we always end our prayers? We are agreeing that we have responsibilities to our neighbour, whether they be fellow Christians or not. We agree that we are sinners and are in need of God’s grace. We agree that we need to amend our ways. We agree that we need to let go of chasing power and to humbly follow in the way of Jesus instead.
So, let’s embrace prayer. Let’s really think about what we are praying for, to pray with feeling and meaning, and to really, consciously agree to what we have prayed for. And know that, as St Augustine wrote, ‘true, whole prayer is nothing but love.’ In prayer we all, ‘with simplicity of heart, allow ourselves to be gathered up into the arms of our Father.’ (Richard Foster, Prayer, 2008).Cathy Davies