Private prayer–it’s not painful, right?
Apparently it can be: a recent study found that people actually preferred the pain of a self-administered electric shock to being quietly alone with their thoughts! Without the distractions of devices or music, 15 minutes of thinking was too much to bear–one man actually shocked himself 190 times rather than sit doing nothing!
Prayer isn’t exactly the same thing as sitting alone and thinking, but it isn’t that far off. Attempting to communicate with someone we can’t see can feel like we are talking to ourselves. The distractions of random thoughts and even the difficulty of staying awake can make a regular time of private prayer difficult to do, no matter what our intentions. Since prayer is essential to being in touch with God and with ourselves, you might think that baptism would gift us with the ability to pray, just as we are given the Holy Spirit and forgiveness, but, alas, that is not the case. Spending 15 minutes in prayer sometimes seems impossible, if not painful.
There are people who do seem to be able to pray. There are contemplatives–those are people who can sit quietly with their thoughts without giving themselves electric shocks or falling asleep. There are “prayer warriors,” who seem to be people who pray spontaneously and publicly. I am neither of these. I find myself to be more of a “prayer struggler” than a warrior, and falling asleep is my biggest struggle!
But the point isn’t to be an expert, or even get a reputation. The purpose of prayer is to build a relationship with God, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit (just to get the theology straight). What that means is that like any part of the spiritual journey, prayer is an ongoing process of changes, ups and downs, and seasons. Like any part of the spiritual journey, it’s something we need to be sharing.
Prayer is difficult but not impossible–just google the topic and you’ll get lots of advice! But what Google can’t give is a conversation, a place to practice, and a community to make it work. So on Thursday nights, beginning Oct. 1,
Trinity is going to step in to fill that void. The plan is to spend some time in conversation and in practice, with prayer being our intention. The time is 6:30-8, and the place is the church.
The topics we might discuss are many, and I have thought of a good number. But what do you want to know? Share some ideas here (or in church, where there will be papers), and set aside a Thursday night or two.