Rule no. 1: Prayer is Personal

by Ronan

So…if prayer is a way of life….if prayer is the actions we do for love of God rather than the words we say then what of traditional prayer? What does a bed ridden patient do to improve their relationship with the Divine?

The answer, in short, is that there are many forms of ‘traditional’ prayer which, while they should not amount to our full lives of faith, are helpful in our search of the Divine and in the goal of improving our relationship with Him. From ‘Our Father’s and ‘Hail Mary’s to simply sitting in the presence of God there is a form of prayer to suit everyone. That’s my first point actually…someone who wishes to pray must first realise that no two people will have the same experiences during prayer, the same forms of prayer etc. Rule no. 1: Prayer is Personal. Whether in the company of others or not one’s own words and relationship with God is personal. Not that what happens during prayer should not be shared…just that such experiences touch the core of a persons soul and so could be sensitive.

So…how does one ‘pray’?

I’ve often been heard saying that such prayers as the ‘Our Father’ were given to us by Christ as a blueprint for how to pray. Through such a prayer he demonstrated for us how our relationship with God can, and should, be. A relationship of give and take. One where you’re comfortable in the presence of the Other and not afraid to be yourself before the One who loves above all else. This was my reasoning behind such a statement but recently I’ve come to better appreciate the beauty behind the prayer of Christ. I read a book by a brother from the Taizé community near Lyon in France and it opened my eyes to this great prayer….’Praying the Our Father Today’ by Brother John of Taizé….you should read it!

I believe that when one is comfortable with prayer it is preferable to just ‘talk’ to God as you would any other friend. This will strengthen your relationship over time and, speaking from personal experience, can lead to the full beauty of God found in prayer.

Another thing I learned while in Taizé is the power of music as prayer. The community there sings their way through their services in praise of God and, while it does take a while to adjust, it can leave you really feeling in the presence of God.

The presence of God……..that is central to prayer can be attained in any of the above ways but also by a form of prayer rejuvenated by the founder of the Jesuit order - St. Ignatius of Loyola. St. Ignatius resurrected the ancient prayer type known as ‘Lectio Devina’ and formed a sort of Christian meditation which he referred to as contemplation. This form of prayer is the act of clearing away outside influences from ones mind…, reading a chosen Bible passage…, entering into the story as a participant or a bystander and allowing your mind and soul to take it from there. This should then be reflected on later (a practice central to Ignatius’ teachings).