Pray always! That is what Paul writes in Romans, Ephesians and his first letter to the Thessalonians. Jesus also mentions it in Luke and Matthew. It is also present in the Psalms. Prayer itself is mentioned between 300 and 700 times, depending on the version and the context. (Sometimes the word prayer is there but it is not referring to praying to God.)
There are many postures to adopt while praying. Sometimes the person is sitting, or lying in their bed. Sometimes they are standing with their hands raised up and sometimes kneeling with their hands clasped. In the deaf community when the leader signs “let us pray”, you don’t close your eyes and bow your head but look up to see what they are signing. There isn’t a right or a wrong physical posture. But I would recommend that if you are praying while driving, that you not close your eyes.
There are also many types of prayer. The most basic division is between communal prayer and individual prayer. Communal prayer is what I do at church when I pray and you all join with me. It could also be the prayers done before church meetings. Individual prayer is what we do at home, perhaps in conjunction with reading our Bibles. Some people choose to pray while in the shower, or while driving or walking, while others have a special spot in their homes, perhaps a favourite chair, where they go to pray every day.
There are also different ways of structuring our prayers. Some people choose to do a daily prayer which could be from Our Daily Bread or the Upper Room, either of which give you a Bible passage and a short story with a prayer. Other people choose a prayer book like the Book of Common Prayer used by the Anglicans which give set prayers and readings for each day, while others choose to read and pray their way through the Bible by doing a set number of verses or chapters each day.
Other people choose other options such as Lectio Divina, (Divine Reading in Latin) in which they take a passage and read it through several times, listening carefully to which phrases God draws to their attention. It can also involve journaling to help to focus their thoughts and then spending time in contemplation afterwards to allow their souls to rest in God’s presence.
Some people enjoy private silent meditation and still others a guided meditation. In this version someone talks to you to help to guide you deeper into contemplation of God’s message for you. Meditation has been practiced in other religions but has been a part of Christian prayer for many centuries.
When we pray we can praise God or to choose thank God for what we have. We can pray for God’s healing or blessings on either ourselves or others or we can listen for what messages God is telling us. Some churches have prayer chains which are activated when someone in their community is in special need of prayer.
What is important is not how you pray, or when you pray but that you pray. God wants to have a personal relationship with us. That is only truly possible if we choose to spend quality time with God on a regular basis.
So, as Paul says, “Rejoice always! Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16 – 17)
