A Guide to Deeper Prayer

A Guide to Deeper Prayer

For those who seek less words and a more direct experience of God, the “contemplative” way may offer this. We seek less words, or, at least, holy words. Use these methods below as ways to begin to move deeper into your prayer practice, then develop your own way of prayer. Please feel free to contact me for more information or with questions - rev. jamie brame

Here are a few other approaches to the practice of daily prayer. They are grounded in ancient practices from the history of Christianity, some older than others.

Several things may be helpful before you begin:

Set up your devotional place before you begin. Be as elaborate or simple as is helpful for you to be with God: candles, incense, good lighting (if you are reading), comfortable clothing, a comfortable but firm place to sit (lying down is possible only for a few), a Bible or Psalter, journal, pen, whatever you need for your quiet time.

Let others in your household know that you praying; if you live alone, turn off your cell phone and/or the ringers of your phones, and turn down your answering machine.

Spend a minute or two quietly aware of your breathing. Some teachers suggest that your exhalation be about twice as long as your inhalation.

Begin with a time of “recollection:” think of your day, the things that will involve or have involved you, and slowly let them go by breathing them “out” as you exhale.

Sit as straight as you comfortably can. Almost all faith traditions teach that the position of the body is as important a part of prayer as the state of the mind.

Using a written Prayer List

Many churches publish a prayer list in the bulletin, newsletter, or on the web. How many of us actually use these as a way of going deeper into prayer with our friends?

Sit down and write out a list of people for whom you feel you should pray daily. Change the list from time to time as you discover needs of different people in your daily life.

Don't forget to pray for your enemies and those you feel persecute you. This is a teaching of Jesus, and it changes how you see those people in your life who have hurt you or whom you have hurt. A prayer list that doesn't include these people isn't complete, nor will your prayer be as authentic without this.

Use your prayer list to guide you into more silence by NOT telling God what each person needs but offering each person on your list to God by saying their name.

A long list can be time-consuming but also can help us slow down and be with God and those on the list in prayer each day.

Lectio Divina

“Divine Reading” is a close translation of this Latin phrase. It is a method of letting God speak to you through scripture, rather than trying just to understand the meanings of the words. You do not need a commentary or history book to help you understand (there is a place for the use of commentaries in Bible study, but this kind of prayer challenges us to listen rather than to understand only with the mind. All you are doing is listening to what the words are saying to you at this time, what God may be using the words to say to you. Realize that several readings may reveal different things. Here is simplified way to approach this.

Before you begin, select a passage of scripture; you might also have a pen and paper (or journal), but these are not necessary.

Sit quietly, with a short examination of your day as you slow your breathing and begin to become quiet and centered.

Read the selected text. What word, words, or phrases stand out as you read?

Sit in silence for two to three minutes, hearing these words and phrases. What are they saying to you?

Read the text again. Again, sit quietly with your thoughts for a few minutes. What do you hear this time? Jot down the words and thoughts on paper, not as paragraphs and sentences, but just as the ideas come to you.

Read the text a final time. As you read, consider the thoughts you have written and heard. Do they help you encounter the whole text in a different way? Do the things that stand out for you help you understand the whole text in a way that helps you find God’s words for you in this particular text on this particular day?

Sit silently with your thoughts

Offer verbal silent prayers for your friends and concerns

Close with the Lord’s Prayer

The Divine Office

This is a simple service of praying Psalms and scripture. It is practice in monasteries and churches around the world. This is a very short version of the office, a worship service based on psalms, scripture, and silence.

You will need: a Bible, the list below for Psalms and scriptures for the day, and your prayer “intentions,” which are six or seven short sentence prayers that will focus on one or two ideas for prayer.

It is sometimes helpful to light a candle at the beginning of your office.

Opening sentence:
God, come to my assistance; Lord, make haste to help me.

Doxology:
Glory be to God our Creator, to Jesus Christ our Savior, and to the Holy Spirit our Sustainer, now and forever, amen.

(or, more traditionally) Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever, amen.

Psalms for the Day, each one followed by the above Doxology, and the daily scripture (updated weekly)

You can find Psalms and scripture readings for each day at this address:

http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

Use the scriptures (and other readings if you wish) on the left side of the page when you click on "Click for Today's Prayer Service"

Sit in silence for several moments.

Scripture for the day (see above, after the three psalms)

Intentions (say each prayer, then sit in silence focused on it for a few seconds)

The Lord’s Prayer

Closing
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sit quietly for a few minutes after the closing.

Note: This service is good for groups as well as individuals. Variations of his can be found in The Book of Common Prayer (Episcopalian) and The Liturgy of the Hours (Roman Catholic), as well as many other prayer sources. Psalms and scriptures are taken from the Liturgy of the Hours, from various offices for that particular day.

Meditation

For some people, traditional prayer forms are not helpful. While words guide many people, there are some of us who seek to go beyond words in a wordy culture in which the more we say, the less meaning exists.

Meditation is practiced not just by eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism but most certainly by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Methods of meditation tend to be similar in many aspects throughout these very different faith traditions.

Meditation is not thinking, in the sense we do it here; it is, simply stated but hard to do, a focus of the soul on the presence of God.

Sit comfortably but erect.

Focus your attention on each breath, called “centering.” To help this, count “1” each time you exhale, up to “10,” then start over. When you can do this several times without getting lost, you will find yourself moving towards a deeper attention to God.

It is sometimes helpful to find a “holy word” to help bring the mind back to God when it wanders. Once you begin to be centered, you do not need to continue to count breaths, but to bring your mind back when you daydream, simply say this word to yourself when you exhale. Suggested words: love, mercy, kindness, God, Jesus, Spirit, shepherd, Father, Mother, Savior.

Another way to use words is to pray the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” As you breathe in, pray, “Jesus Christ, Son of God;” exhaling, pray, “Have mercy on me.”

Another use of the Jesus Prayer is to pray it for others: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on _______.”

End your meditation with the Lord’s Prayer. You should practice this method for at least 3 – 5 minutes in the beginning.

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