Pray For Me!

            One of the great dichotomies I hear as a clergy surrounds prayer. I am often invited to pray for people and situations; yet I also hear (sometimes from the same people) that they don't know how to pray.

            Given this scenario, the church I serve developed a solution: in addition to our prayer request box in the chapel, we have added a brief 'introduction to prayer' - covering basic information of the types of prayer (intercession, petition, penitence, thanksgiving, oblation, praise, adoration), and we have created dedicated (and monitored) social media and email address for those who prefer to send prayers electronically.

            We've also established a prayer wall: with prayers written and collated for a number of situations: general intercessions, for travellers, for times of transitions, for families and children... the list goes on. And it's not merely a list: we print out copies of these prayers on cardstock and invite guests to take one with them.

            It's an initiative that's met with success: we've had to re-print the prayers multiple times, as they are being taken and (we assume) prayed. It meets the needs of guests to our beautiful historic church, and it encourages people to continue to pray after they have left.

            Prayer is a way for us to connect with God and with each other; an intentional manner through which we allow our lives to dance with the divine. As the church, we are encouraged to pray without ceasing, to live baptismally in prayer, and to continue to teach prayer with those we love.

            How do we pray? For whom do we pray? Who is praying for us? And in what new ways can we extend the gift of prayer within our communities?