Tag: Explore Prayer

Or are we asking the wrong questions? For one of the points of contemplative prayer is that it has no point, and our goal-oriented and purpose-driven world finds this hard to grasp.

“Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high! COME TO THE EDGE! And they came, And he pushed, And they flew.” – Christopher Logue

In essence, a prayer journal is a written record of your relationship with God. Putting things down on paper accesses different parts of the brain, and in the hard times, it may remind you of God’s faithfulness.

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything
To do it as for Thee.
— from The Elixir by George Herbert

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul urged his readers to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5.17). So what does this mean?

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Many icons depict Jesus, or Mary presenting her son, as gazing directly at the pray-er, inviting eye contact as a way into encounter with the person of Jesus.

Consider your friendship with God. How do you relate to God as you would relate to a friend? What makes a good friendship?

Spiritual Directors or Soul Friends will not finish the race for us. But they will share the journey and help us notice where God is active in our relationship of prayer and in our daily lives.

We are all always beginning in prayer, and always will be. The true experts in prayer have a beginner’s mind, always open to new possibilities.

Gratitude reminds us of abundance and leads to an attitude of contentment, interdependence, and respect for Creation and Creator.

There are two basic blunders that we can make make in praying for ourselves: to be too demanding; and not to ask at all.

Three (very tentative) understandings of what I am doing in intercession as part of my contemplative practice

The slow reading of a picture may be more helpful to those who find it easier to engage visually with the world rather than through words

Playful prayer – being light-hearted, spontaneous, simply enjoying God – helps us avoid ‘worthiness’ and ploddery.

“Pray as you can and do not try to pray as you can’t. Take yourself as you find yourself: start from that.”

“Prayer is not a technique but a relationship. There is no unfitness, no obstacle, no problem… All anyone can do for us is to keep our eyes on Jesus…”

As you read scripture or spiritual writing, one saying or word might strike you. Stop and write it out long-hand. Then ask yourself three questions…

As you read scripture or spiritual writing, one saying or word might strike you. Stop and write it out long-hand. Then ask yourself three questions…

Praying a labyrinth is a journey to the centre. It is akin to walking a winding pilgrim path, taking time to reflect and ponder our interior landscape.

The Examen is a way of reflecting prayerfully on your day. It may be a very short prayer, or a period of longer reflection. It may prayed at any time, but is often prayed last thing at night.

The apophatic, or negative, way of prayer starts with the teaching that God is no thing that we can grasp. God is utterly transcendent and beyond every thing that God has made.

The kataphatic, or affirmative, way of prayer seeks to describe God, and to express what or who God is in terms of what God is like, in order to understand and come closer to God.

Constraints can be a vital source of creativity. They force us to think and release our imaginations. The form of the Collect is a way to collect our intentions in prayer and arrange them.

The Church’s pattern of prayer today is a simplification of the eight-fold monastic daily office associated with Psalm 119 v164 “Seven times a day I praise you” and v62 “At midnight I rise to give you thanks”.

Engaging our body in prayer – praying with the whole person – deepens our attentiveness and enables different intentions in prayer.

Can we come close to seeing and scenting a spray of the lily of the valley as God might see it? Hearing the chatter of a treeful of sparrows as God might hear them?

“Pilgrimage is an opportunity to reflect on the journey of our lives, and on our journey homewards to God.” – Devon Pilgrim guidance on the St Boniface Way

Repeating a short phrase over and over can be a helpful way of holding the surface mind’s attention while the soul encounters God in the depths.

When we enter our prayer time, it is probably not long before we get distracted. But there are preparations we can make and tactics we can employ.

We often find our attention wandering in prayer, but over the centuries, people well-versed in the practice have developed techniques that can help us.

How can we make sure we make time for God? Form a habit and find a bridge.

It is hard going against the flow of today’s culture, and waiting for anything. So it might be helpful to think in terms of waiting on God.

You are infinitely loved by God, and God is waiting and longing to be with you. Prayer is simply the expression of our relationship with God.