• Priorities
• Preparation
• Practice
• Personality
• Persistence

1. Priorities - an exercise

Take some time out and reflect on what your priorities in life are?

How do you spend your time? What do you really enjoy doing? Who or what are most important to you? Where is God in all this? Where is prayer? List your thoughts

Read Psalm 139 slowly and reflectively as if God is speaking personally to you and then review your list

2. Preparation "In space comes grace"

a)  Finding a space. Where is there space in your life; a time and space when you can be alone? Be realistic. If there does not seem to be any, are there spaces you could create: at home, at work, on the way to work, at weekends, or on a day off?

b) External distractions. How can you deal with the phone, the doorbell, other people? Are there strategies or signals you can adopt to protect this space?

c) Internal distractions. Thoughts, worries, anxieties, restlessness. What helps you relax: a hot drink? A bath? Exercise? Your feet up? Discover what is best for you. Practice simple breathing exercises. Have a notebook and a pencil with you which you can use to write reminders to yourself such as "ring Sue, cancel the papers, or get more bread."

Centering down. This is the hardest part of prayer, becoming aware of the presence of God. These things might help. Recite a memory verse such as 'Lo I am with you always;' 'Come to me all who you labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest'. Or picture Jesus walking on water coming towards you with hands outstretched. Alternatively, use a physical object such as a candle, a cross or a picture to remind you of his presence. Or recite a well-known prayer such as the collect for purity and make it personal. Don’t be discouraged it may take most of your prayer time to become aware of God, but it is immensely worthwhile when it happens.

3. Practice

 Like any other discipline praying takes practice. Praise and thanksgiving is a good place to start, that helps to focus on God; use hymns, psalms or choruses. Then move to confession, then petition, ending with thanks. Alternatively you can use the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern.

4. Personality

We are very different people and this affects the way we go about prayer. Some of us value structure and others spontaneity. Some respond to imagination and for them Ignatian Spirituality, which teaches us how to meditate on the scriptures, is appealing. In others a contemporary situation impels them to intercede. Pray as you can, not as you can’t, for if prayer is encountering God, then we must come as ourselves - we don’t need to pretend. Feel free to experiment with posture and styles of prayer: hands together, eyes closed, and kneeling may suit some, but is ideal for everyone.

5. Persistence

Jesus continually teaches us to persevere in prayer. The stories of the traveller at night (Luke 11:5-8) or the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:2-8) are intended to encourage us to keep on praying. Sometimes as we keep praying for something we realise that we need to change the direction of our prayers, at other times we start to sense that God’s desire is to widen our vision. At yet others it is as if God is testing the fervency of our prayers.

Revd. Donald Dowling

Part 2 - Difficulties in Prayer                 Part 3 - Power in Prayer