The Practice of Prayer, part 1
Prayer is arguably the quintessential spiritual practice. When you think about it, the concept is profound; we in our finiteness are interacting directly with the ineffable, infinite force of the universe. That is mind-blowing.
Have you ever noticed how many ways people pray? Some sit quietly in silence, and others shout loudly while walking around a room. Some use formal language and others speak so casually that you would think they are speaking to the person next to them.
We each have our own preferred style, and none are better or worse than others, but I must confess that I have struggled on occasions when someone has been publicly praying in a style that is different from my own. I judge and criticize the style instead of listening to the heart of the prayer. I can be as good a Pharisee as the ones who Jesus rebuked 2000 years ago.
I’m certain that God is not measuring the merits of the prayer based on its presentation, but on the sincerity of the person.
I wonder if we need to try different styles of prayer, simply to stop us becoming rigid in our patterns and critical of others who are different.
I wonder if we miss out on the variety of God’s presence because we think we can only relate to God in one particular way.
I wonder if the biggest obstacle to prayer is our ego-centred “I want” prayers, instead of God-centred “What do you want to say to me?” prayers.
I wonder what God would say if we stopped long enough to listen.
Faith should be lived out in practice
- In Christ Daily – Day 3 - 2 November 2025
- In Christ Daily – Day 2 - 2 November 2025
- In Christ Daily – Day 1 - 2 November 2025