Getting started with a regular cycle of prayer can seem intimidating and overwhelming to some. We can perhaps take some comfort that even the disciples of Jesus apparently felt similarly ill prepared:
Lord, teach us how to pray .. (Luke 11:1)
They would have seen Jesus praying regularly and observed how prayer impacted upon his life. Jesus’ life embodied love and a deep connection with God. Perhaps they wanted to know how to experience God the same way? They needed help, and so do we, especially in troubled times such as these.
Jesus started by saying:
When you pray, say: Father .. (Luke 11:2)
Father! With this one word, Jesus changes the dynamics of understanding and relationship with God. God is now a loving parent, not a distant and judging deity!
We are now invited to approach God like a child speaks to a loving parent. We can bring to God our wonder, our joys, our pain, our confusion - everything that we experience in our life. We praise, we rejoice, we rant, and we rave, knowing and acknowledging with thanks that God listens to every word.
These words may come in beautiful prose or verse, or in confused phrases and single words. Yet God cares enough to listen and embrace us with his presence. Sometimes our pain is just too deep for words. We can only cry or groan or sigh. Yet God listens.
How we approach God in prayer is as unique as we are and is as situational as the immediate context that we are in. The following thoughts are offered as some signposts and guidelines that might be helpful:
- When we pray we come before God with the world on our hearts. We are also offering ourselves to be in some small way channels of love and peace in God’s world.
- God already knows what is in our hearts and minds. We can be honest with God, and say exactly how we feel, or merely sit in silence.
- It might help to find a quiet space. You may want to be on your own, but you may also find that it helps to join other people.
- It would also be helpful to set aside a time and space for prayer. The example of Jesus again is used as the model where he would withdraw to the desert to pray - setting both the attitude and the pace needed to approach God
- You may find that you can say just what you want to, using your own words. Other people find it useful to use written prayers, or even using words from the Bible.
Ultimately, we must remember that even as we seek to grow closer to God, he is already reaching out to us. God is the one that gives us the desire to grow and he wants to see us grow. All we need to do is to keep showing up, even when we don’t feel particularly up to it. Rest assured, God is already there waiting for us.
