At the beginning of last month, we held an intergenerational mini retreat on prayer, called “Teach Us to Pray.” We are grateful for the leadership Gayle Kerr offered to all the participants, as well as Valerie Jansson who offered leadership for the children who attended. This time together was so well received that we have had requests for some sort of “follow up.” During our mini retreat we didn’t have enough time to reflect upon all the questions people had about prayer, so after doing an evaluation of the retreat, we decided to offer “an evening of prayer exploration.” This will be a time to simply come together, in an informal and relaxed way, to reflect with each other on this spiritual practice. We have set aside Tuesday evening, May 20th at 6:30 PM for this conversation. All are invited and encouraged to attend, whether you were able to take advantage of the mini-retreat or not.
I’m grateful the church can be a place for this type of exploration, where we can gather to consider these things together. Prayer is something human beings have been doing for a long time. It is something people of different faiths practice all over the world. There is a type of universality to the desire on the part of humanity to connect with the Sacred in our midst in this way.
During our mini retreat, some excellent resources on prayer were offered. Part of these resources included some quotes on prayer, an opportunity to bring additional “voices” to the conversation. While there are so many good thoughts on prayer, I thought I’d share some I have appreciated over the years for you to enjoy, to consider, and to reflect upon. As you do, I invite you to see if any “ring true” to your own experience, or if some seem to “speak” to you more than others. If so, why do you think that is so?
I hope to see many of you at our gathering on May 20th. Feel free to bring your questions, and an openness to share your own experiences with us all, or feel free to just come and listen. We will be blessed through this time of honest and open sharing. If we can or can’t attend on May 20th, let’s all continue to explore the practice of prayer and take advantage of what a community of faith has to offer, opportunities to encourage each other on the journey of life and faith in meaningful ways. Enjoy!
“Basically, prayer is an exercise in divine participation – we are opting in, and God is always there.” (Richard Rohr)
“If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” (Meister Eckhart)
“To pray means to bring God back into the world, to establish His kingship for a second at least. To pray means to expand God’s presence.” (Abraham Heschel)
“Prayer is your soul connecting to its Source, the Soul of Souls. Prayer allows us to see through the soul’s eyes. It opens us up to our daily blessings and helps us align the soul’s highest intentions with the body’s highest actions. Prayer ignites us to create the world we are yearning for.” (Naomi Levy)
“Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
“To pray is to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living.” (Abraham Heschel)
“Prayer joins the visible to the invisible world.” (Fools Crow, Sioux)
“Prayer is a way to master what is inferior in us, to discern between the signal and the trivial, between the vital and the futile, by taking counsel with what we know about the will of God, by seeing our fate in proportion to God.” (Abraham Heschel)
“To begin the process of prayer we need only wish to be sincere. We need not seek complicated formulas but merely become ourselves in the presence of God.” (Anthony Padovano)
Blessings,
Pastor John