The Prayer Practice - Talking to God
Readings for this week July 10 - 14
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – We’re All Beginners
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 11:1a
Some consider their life of prayer to be well established and regular, a great source of comfort and communion with God. Others feel that they do it badly, can’t seem to establish and maintain a regular prayer life, and feel frustrated – and perhaps ashamed – at their spiritual failings in this area. Whichever situation best describes you, we should always remember the words of St. Teresa of Ávila, who said when it comes to prayer, we’re all beginners. We can all learn something new; we can all open ourselves up to more to God; we can all move deeper into him. We all have the ability to lean into God and move our prayer life up to another level, no matter where we feel the efficacy of our prayer life rests now. That’s what this series aims to help us do; it’s a deep dive into prayer (sometimes just half a verse at a time) to see what the bible tells us about it.
And we can learn a lot about prayer by following the lead of Jesus. He taught a lot about prayer but he also prayed a lot. It is something that Jesus did and modelled in a way that showed both how crucial it was for him, and how much of a necessity it is for all of us. Jesus was a prayer practitioner. It was a regular rhythm he had, a discipline that he followed. The gospels are replete with comments telling us that Jesus prayed regularly, deliberately communed alone with his Father. He has much to teach us – all of us – about prayer as a portal to life with God.
Questions to Consider
What is the purpose of prayer? How would you describe your prayer life at the moment?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for wanting to talk with me and be with me. Give me a greater desire to bring everything about my life and the world I see around me to you in prayer. Show me how to go deeper into you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – Talking to God
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 11:1b
We begin with talking to God. The disciples didn’t ask Jesus to teach them how to heal. Or how to drive out demons. Or how to walk on water, calm storms, turn water into wine, or anything miraculous like that. They knew he had power, but that wasn’t what they asked for. They knew there was something special here. Perhaps this was because they realised all the miraculous things they had seen him do were only possible because of the intimate inner relationship he had with his father and which was cultivated by his habitual rhythms of prayer. All the miracles and healings were predicated on and empowered by a foundation of prayer.
We should take hope from the disciples’ question. These men, who had grown up listening to prayer, saying the Shema, taking part in regular prayer services, and praying themselves, still saw prayer as something about which they had much to learn. No matter how good we are and how long we’ve been praying, there is always something new to learn about how to pray, when to pray, where to pray – all because we (hopefully) know God more today than we did yesterday. And knowing God more helps us (and encourages us) to pray more and do so more deeply. Jesus has something to teach us. The disciples saw him praying and immediately asked him to teach them how to pray. Clearly there was something in the way he prayed that made them realise he had practical wisdom to impart about praying regularly and praying well.
Questions to Consider
What do you think the disciples saw in Jesus’ prayer life? What does their action tell us about their attitude to prayer?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, teach me how to pray. Teach me new ways of communicating with you; show me that, just as with you, with prayer, there is always more. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – The Liturgy of Pre-Made Prayers
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 11:2a
Premade prayers are a very good way of praying and here Jesus is giving us a premade prayer to pray through. He doesn’t start with telling us to pray whatever might be on our mind. He gives us a structure to work through as we pray. The idea of praying through/with an already composed prayer was a regular one around the time of Jesus, and has been part of the Christian tradition ever since. There are many examples in scripture of premade prayers – like the Lord’s prayer here; many of the psalms; prayers of the Apostles in the New Testament – and scripture itself, whether memorised or not, can be recited as a prayer, as well as more formal liturgical collections like The Common Book of Prayer or A New Zealand Prayer Book/He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.
These pre-made prayers are not a cheat. They are immensely powerful. We often first learn to pray through prayers already written and prayed, famous prayers that have long ago entered the Christian lexicon. But they are helpful even beyond these early stages of faith: when we’re travelling and unable to adhere to our regular prayer rhythm or occupy our regular prayer spaces; when are we unwell or exhausted and unable to focus our minds; when we cannot articulate the correct words we wish to express to God; or when we are in an extended period of experiencing God’s apparent absence. These ‘oven-ready’ prayers are a great way to talk to God, either on their own as a guide to intimacy with God, or as a starting point to orient ourselves and move into an extended time of prayer.
Questions to Consider
What pre-made prayers have you used? How have they helped you pray?
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for not leaving us to pray alone. Thank you for the prayers of others – and of Jesus – as guides to get closer to you. May I not fail to use the gifts others have provided. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – Praying Matters
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 11:2b
Our prayers make a difference. It can be hard to see this sometimes – we’ve all prayed for things, sometimes desperately, sometimes difficult matters of life and death, that have not come to pass; we all have moments of thinking, “Does praying really achieve anything?” But it does. What Jesus says in the fuller version in Matthew – “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – suggests that the kingdom has not yet come in all its fullness. It is here in part, but not completely. There are spaces and places where God’s destiny for his creation is not being fulfilled. Our hope is that through prayer, in partnership with God, through his son Jesus, we can bend reality in the direction of God’s good, loving, perfect intentions for his creation.
And by inviting us to pray and seek his kingdom, he gives us a part to play in doing this. The coming kingdom can grow, here and now; kingdom moments – moments of salvation and grace and healing – can abound and reveal themselves and change the nature of reality. If we see prayer as a chance to encounter and delight in the beauty of God, then we will start to delight in the very things God delights in and seek to heal and transform the broken parts of his creation. And prayer is where that transformation begins, as we ourselves are transformed. The change in us, becoming more Christ-like, shows that prayer does make a difference – not just in us, but through us; not just for us, but for the world.
Questions to Consider
How effective do you think praying is? In what way? What are your experiences of effective, transformative prayer?
Prayer
Almighty God, you invite us to be involved in changing the world and bringing it back to you. Help us be faithful in prayer in order to fully play our part in your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Asking
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 11:3-4
There is nothing wrong with asking God for things; in fact he encourages it. But that is not all prayer is. As we can see from this prayer, Jesus doesn’t get around to asking for anything until the second half of it. The first half of the prayer is all about orientation. It’s about reminding ourselves and acknowledging to ourselves – and letting God know that we know – who we are and what the real state of affairs is, regardless of our circumstances. It’s about remembering who God is, that he is our Father, and reminding ourselves we are as his children, stepping away from all our preconceived notions of who he is, what we think he should be doing, and acknowledging the reality of his Lordship – but also of his love for us.
When we come to God in prayer he is not far away from us, but is right there with us – in fact, as Augustine says, he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. And this is the first goal of prayer: worshipful enjoyment of our Father’s company. “Hallowed by your name”: we begin by offering reverence and worship to our holy God, the one who made us and knows us and loves us. Prayer begins with worship of the one who is beauty and goodness and truth and love. We reorient ourselves back to him, to the reality of his bountiful love and compassion, we enter his presence and acknowledge his greatness. We see him in his glory and praise him for his beauty, and then turn towards each other and the world in order to look at all things through his eyes.
Questions to Consider
How is prayer orientation (or re-orientation) for you? How does it help you recentre and navigate yourself back towards God?
Prayer
Loving Father, may my entire life be an opportunity to worship, serve and love you. May I see prayer as the engine that drives me and makes this possible. Expand my horizons and show me more of you. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)