As a Christian I have always had a desire for prayer. Some would call this the ‘tug of home.’ As a good baptist I felt the pressure to make prayer work in my life and so over the years I have read many books on prayer. I have several on my shelf right now and have enjoyed many others. I’ve tried Lectio Divina, literally ‘divine words’, praying with small portions of Scripture as the guide. I have enjoyed praying as Ignatius of Loyola taught several hundred years ago, systematically looking over the past 24 hours and thanking, confessing, praising and asking God for strength for tomorrow. Two years ago I ran across a great little book at the Catawba Co. Library, Praying in Color: Drawing a new path to God, written by an Episcopal math professor. This prayer is done with a clean sheet of paper in front of you and colored pencils in hand. I’ve also practiced Centering Prayer –a la Thomas Keating - for months and seen great progress opening my life to God.
You name it, I’ve tried it. I have gone from method to method and back and forth and here and there again - and then some. And all of the methods have worked to some extent. Maybe you can relate.
Several months ago I saw an interview with Gardner Taylor, who’s been a mentor of sorts for me since I met him at a conference a few years ago. He’s known as the Dean of African American preachers. He’s well into his nineties and he lives in
It dawned on me. What if prayer can be like sitting with an old friend? I thought of old friends, people I most enjoy spending time with, and realize that we sometimes chat, we catch up, we share hopes and dreams, we share what thrills us and we share sorrow. We also eventually just sit and enjoy being in each other’s presence. No words, no expectation, no work, no pressure.
I am not sure where you are in your prayer life right now, but today take comfort in the fact that in prayer you might not have to do anything. Just show up before God, sit a while, and see what happens.
Ande
