The Christian life...

People are moved to prayer. People are moved by prayer. We are invited into prayer. We are prayed for. We are asked to pray and taught to pray.

What exactly do we mean when we talk of prayer?

Wikipedia has an extensive page on prayer and how it is practiced by different religions. In its introduction is describes prayer as:

“active effort to communicate with a deity or spirit either to offer praise, to make a request, confess sins, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may either be a set hymn or incantation, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person's own words.”

Wordnet gives five definitions for the noun "prayer":

• the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving); "the priest sank to his knees in prayer"
• reverent petition to a deity
• entreaty: earnest or urgent request; "an entreaty to stop the fighting"; "an appeal for help"; "an appeal to the public to keep calm"
• a fixed text used in praying
• someone who prays to God

Prayer can be individual or communal, informal or formal, by word, by gesture, by thought. Prayer is not unique to Catholics but there are uniquely Catholic prayers.

Prayer as an urgent request or entreaty seems to come to us easily in crisis — when there is nothing we can do. Often at times of impending death or in the face of disaster we look for divine intervention. We plead and cry, we sob and groan, our very being entreats our God to intervene.

But what about other times? When we are 'gob-smacked' by the beauty of creation, by the freshness of a new day, bathed in sunlight, blue sky and a glimmering world, when we celebrate our lives and our lives with God, when we are moved to pity or sadness, when we are quiet, exhausted, energetic, loud … well any time at all really.

It is hardly likely that the topic of your prayer life will come up over a beer at the pub. It is just not the question we usually ask. Yet how do we keep a balance to our prayer life just as we attempt to stay fit and healthy of mind and body?

Prayer takes practice like anything that we want to do well. Prayer takes time like any good friendship. Prayer has its seasons: its droughts, its springs, its peaks, its troughs. We can learn new ways to pray, we can learn to listen, to be, to speak, to review, to read and hopefully to live and breathe our lives as prayer.

Luke has much to say about prayer and praying. As he wrote to his community, prayer was the essence of living as a faithful disciple. Luke showed Jesus as a model of prayer:

• But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray (5:16)
• Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God (6:12),
• Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (6:28)
• Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. (9:28-29)
• He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come." (11:1-2)
• Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart (18:1)
• Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (21:36)
• But I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. (22:32)
• Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed (22:41)
• In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground (22:44)
• When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief (22:45)

Luke is quite the teacher and what he taught his community speaks to us still. Take time out to pray, pray for those who affront and abuse you, pray to God, pray together, pray for each other, pray when you are in trouble, pray always and don't lose heart.

Rosemary

Rosemary Canavan lives in Adelaide. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts major in Psychology and two Bachelors degrees in Theology, the most recent an Honours degree in New Testament studies. She has two adult children.

Photo Credits:
This series of photos from stock.xchnge Photographer: Cris Watk, United States

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Rosemary can be contacted at: rosemary@catholica.com.au

©2006 Rosemary Canavan

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