Study Group - Once A Week

We met together in the Vestry at St Alkmund's after the morning Eucharist. Fr Alan started the discussion by introducing the topic of Prayer. (Please see here for details). 

I have listed here some of the points raised to give a flavour of the session:

• What difference does prayer make?
• Why do we ask for anything other than just guidance for our lives.
• Should we pray expectantly? Just once or keep asking?
• Praying for those who are suffering. We are not trying to convince God to be concerned, we are perhaps aligning ourselves with their suffering and to identify ourselves with the purposes of God. On the side of the goodness of God.
• Beware of Theurgy, attempting through the prayer to change the actions of God. Wearing God down with the number or volume of our prayer.
• In prayer, God is there for me - and I am there for God.
• Book of Common Prayer. It would be a good thing to look at the words, what they mean. They are full of rich meaning and are always Trinitarian in nature.
• The Lords Prayer and Creeds can be useful tools to prayer. Their meaning and importance to our spiritual lives can often change over time as we age and experience new perspectives on life.
• Intention and feeling are important in prayer.
• Familiarity with a text can help people overcome embarrassment when praying in public, especially in small groups.
• When we pray to God we are addressing the creator and redeemer of all that there is. It can appear like madness to present our frailty to the very heart of God.
• Prayer can be an essential part of working out a solution.
• Prayer can sometimes be an acknowledgement of our failures and sins; an easing of the burden on our lives.
• Except the mystery of faith, be open to the guidance of God. It is never wrong to ask a question.

For something that appears to be straightforward at first, there are a huge range of materials and techniques available to help us draw closer to God in prayer. People are all different and it is perhaps important to remember to "Pray as we can - and not as we can't". Finding something that we feel comfortable with now, but being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which will help to keep our prayer fresh and alive to God.