May 11, 2016

Continuing in the series of the 7-step discipleship process that was originally published in 1934 by Forward Movement, we come to step four.  As a reminder, the first three steps were to Turn, Follow, and Learn.

The next step in this discipleship process is Pray.

Prayer is a funny thing.  It's something that we are mandated to do (“Pray then in this way;” “Persevere in prayer;” “Pray in the Spirit at all times;” “Devote yourselves to prayer” as a few examples) in Scripture.  It is something that takes discipline.  It is something people are uncomfortable with.  It is something people feel they need to be taught how to do (“Teach us to pray”).

Prayer, in its most broad sense, is any raising of the heart to God.  It involves petition, intercession, and thanksgiving.  It involves a lot of listening.  It makes use of a variety of physical positions such as standing, upraised arms, kneeling, folded hands, and prostration (notice the position of the priest's hands and arms during the Eucharist prayer, for instance).  It can be spoken or silent.

Because of all that, I think people are reluctant to pray outside of church because they “might be doing it wrong.”  Of course, I could be wrong in that assessment, but I've had enough people ask me for help and strategies that I tend to think I'm correct.  Regardless, prayer seems to be one of those things that we all know we should do but either never have the time or are too unsure of how that it slips through the cracks of our busy lives.

Here are a few tips on praying:

Read the Psalms daily (the BCP groups the Psalms into “First Day: Morning Prayer,” “Fourteenth Day: Evening Prayer,” etc. through the thirty days of the month).  Daily Morning Prayer is offered Monday through Friday at 7:15 a.m. in the Chapel.  Read through the Noonday service on page 103 of the BCP.  Read through the Daily Devotions beginning on page 136 of the BCP.  Read the Order for Compline before bed (BCP 127).  Take a copy of the Prayers of the People home and pray daily for the people on our intercession list.  Pick up a copy of the Day-by-Day in the narthex.  Ask God every day, “What would you have me do?” and then sit in silence listening.  There are five sentences in the Lord's Prayer or, depending on how you do it, seven clauses: spend one day of the week focusing on each sentence or clause.

There are many ways, forms, and styles to prayer.  If you look through that short list I just provided you will notice one thing they all have in common – daily.  There is no “wrong way” to pray; but prayer, like exercise, works best if done daily.  To borrow a popular advertising slogan – Prayer: Just Do It.

As we choose to Turn and Follow Christ, Learning to become better disciples, never forget that daily Prayer will help keep us grounded in our relationship with God.

Amen.