Prayer

How do you pray in this new and changing landscape?

Some folks may feel overwhelmed with people and things to pray for. Some may feel dry and silent. Some may be praying without ceasing. Some folks may already have a developed prayer life and some may find themselves praying for first time in a long time.

Whether you are seeking help to begin to pray or looking for new ways to cry out in these new times, you may find some of these resources helpful.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no perfection in prayer. There is no wrong way to talk to God. All of these forms of prayer are “practices”, and the more we practice something the more comfortable we feel.

Prayer is as much about listening as it is speaking, so if words fail you, trust in this verse in Romans and simply sit and listen for and in God’s presence. God’s presence with you and love for you is not dependent on your praying – it is simply a way for you to learn to experience it.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27

Finally if your prayer is simply “Lord give me the desire to pray”, that is a good starting place.

Spoken Guided Meditation for Welcoming Prayer

Follow this guided practice to welcome the divine indwelling amid daily life – whether chaotic or calm.

https://insighttimer.com/tombushlack/guided-meditations/the-welcoming-prayer-saying-yes-to-daily-life

How to Write a Lament – By Judy Johnson

 

Centering Prayer

Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

Follow this guided audio meditation to help you learn this ancient prayer. https://gravitycenter.com/practice/centering-prayer/

 

Lexio Divina

Lexio Divina is a prayerful way to encounter scripture. You are not trying to analyze or contextualize you are simply letting small portions of scriptures serve as a place of communication between you and God.

The basic steps to pray using Lexio Divina are as follows.

  • Pick a small portion of scripture –It can be nice to use verses where Jesus is active teaching or healing. Psalms are also a great starting place.
  • Get comfortable and prepare to listen through the scriptures. A great entrance thought can be “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”. Once your mind is quiet(er) go on.
  1. Lectio: Read the text slowly. Listen for a word or phase that shimmers or catches your attention. You do not need to know why, not do you need to think about it. Simply let it catch you and hold it in your mind for a bit.
  2. Meditatio: Read the same text through again. This time notice what may echo deeper in your mind or heart – it may very well be the same word or phrase. This is the time to let that idea sink a little deeper, let it echo in your thinking and take some time to ponder its meaning.
  3. Oratio: Read the same text through again. This is a time of response. Respond to God about the what you are hearing and thinking about. You can do this quietly in your mind, you can journal, or you can vocalize these things out loud. Respond with your questions, your thanks, your feelings.
  4. Contemplatio: Read the same passage through again. Now it is time to simply sit with the God who breathed this scripture into being. Rest in the presence of God and let what you have wondered, heard, and spoken take root so that you can carry it with you.

Daily Prayer Videos with Sarah Iverson

It can be nice, when you’re first learning this practice to have someone talk you through it. Check out any of these videos from our collection to have Sarah walk you through a Lexio Prayer.

 

Prayers to hold during these times

Prayer Attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.