What is praying…. really?

This week we started a series about practice. That’s right, we’re talking about practice. Practice is important. If you’ve ever played a sport, you know that practice is not the game, it gets you ready for the game. You practice in order to be ready when it really matters. Practice makes perfect, right?

So, we’re going to look at a few spiritual practices. Not because spirituality is a game we have to get ready for. But because when we commit to put in the work in our spirit, we will have a better relationship with Jesus, a deeper connection to God, and that’s what really matters.

The first practice we looked at is prayer. Here’s a quick definition of prayer: Prayer is conscious loving union with God. Notice I didn’t explain what words to use or how to make a request. Notice I didn’t give a preferred timeframe for how long a prayer needs to be. Notice I didn’t explain what the proper ending to a prayer is.

We often look at praying as an activity that we ought to do or should do. But what if instead of looking at prayer as an activity, we looked at it as part of our relationship with God?

Let me give you three of the prayers that I talked about briefly this weekend. I want to give you a little more details, some history even. Most of these prayers are based on ancient practices. If it was helpful to those first Christians, it can probably help us too.

1. Welcoming Prayer

This is a great way to start any prayer time. That’s why it’s called a welcoming prayer. I like to start with a few minutes of silence, and I’ll explain that in a little bit. But the first prayer can be this welcoming prayer.

This is the prayer where we invite God into our presence. Right here and right now. To inhabit the space we’ve created by turning off the phone, shutting down the email notifications, closing the door and getting quiet. We welcome him to show up.

But not just in our prayer time. We also welcome God into our lives. At any and every opportunity, we give him the right to interrupt us, to show us a better path. We invite him to be present in our victories and our failures, our joys and our sorrows. No matter what, we search to find him because we have welcomed him.

Here’s a quick script I like to use:

“Welcome, welcome, welcome.

I welcome everything that comes to me today
because I know it’s for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons,
situations, and conditions.
I let go of my desire for power and control.
I let go of my desire for affection, esteem,
approval and pleasure.
I let go of my desire for survival and security.
I let go of my desire to change any situation,
condition, person or myself.
I open to the love and presence of God and
God’s action within. Amen”.

2. Breath Prayer

This is also known as a centering prayer. And it’s older than you and me – combined! In fact, it can be dated all the way back to the 6^th century out in the Syrian desert. Our faith forefathers were using this type of prayer to get closer to Jesus.

Here’s how this one works. Find a comfortable place to sit down and stay calm. No distractions. Close your eyes and remove all tension or thoughts that might bother you. Now, choose a word that you can center on, concentrate your thoughts on. It may be an attribute of God, like “peace” or “love,” or it could be his name. Whatever will help you focus your thoughts. Now, breath in and out as you focus on that word, repeating it if you have to. Your mind may wander, don’t worry. Just return to that word and let your mind center on God again.

At first, this will be very difficult. You’ll find yourself moving from anxious thought to anxious thought. You’ll want to beat yourself up for being so distracted. Don’t, though. Your goal is to do this for 20 minutes, but after the first two you’ll be sure you’ve spent an hour in prayer!

The whole point of the breath prayer is to be in the presence of God. It’s not to ask him for anything or to tell him how great he is. It’s just to be. And our breathing is the best way to come about that.

3. Daily Review Prayer

This one can be done at night or early in the morning. It’s a neat, step by step type of prayer. And it involves you actively asking and listening to God. It’s a way to examine your life. In fact, you may have heard of it by its Latin term, the examen.

There are five steps to this prayer:

1. Acknowledge an awareness of the Divine.
2. Review the day in a posture of gratitude.
3. Recognize a “Consolation” and a “Desolation” from the day.
4. Choose a “Desolation” to pray into.
5. Look with hope for new tomorrow.

Begin by acknowledging God’s presence in your life. Then, go over the major beats of your day, what went right and what may not have. Find both a good and bad thing, a “consolation” and a “desolation.” Pray into the bad thing, asking God to remove it from your shoulders. Then look forward to the next day, or the day ahead, with renewed hope in him.

And that’s it! Very simple, aren’t they? Some of them take time and concentration, sure. But they aren’t impossible. And they can be added to your daily routine pretty easily. All it takes is committing that time and energy. All it takes is practice.