Pray Without Ceasing
The ancients guide us with wisdom and love
in to the mysteries of prayer
I am spending some time reading the Desert Fathers and Mothers these days.
Sometimes they lived in community (always seperated by gender). Other times they lived in isolation (in caves, in huts they made, and even out in the open).
They are rich in lessons on silence and solitude, love of God and others, spiritual direction, the deadly sins (anger and pride as among the worst), the virtue of humility, and of course prayer.
What is most striking is the incredible diversity of prayer that is found in their lives and their writings. They believed God interacts in different ways according to the makeup and needs of each person. And that inevitably means a wonderful variety of prayer.
As you read their guidance about prayer, at times, it is seems contradictory… until you remember that they are only illustrating ways of prayer and not mandating any norm for prayer.
Here are the three "rules from the desert."
ONE:
Pray. It is the most vital dynamic of life with God.
TWO:
Pray in the way that connects you with God. And the diversity of prayer is beautiful.
THREE:
Respect the differences in prayer, value each way, do not categorize some as better and others as lesser (a problem some of the later mystics fall in to).
Visit this site for history and photos
Most of us need to learn how to pray. I think most leaders strugle with prayer and it is one of our great inadequacies as leaders.
To learn how to pray, you may have to read a good book or two to learn about prayer. A note of caution - there are some very good books on prayer, and there are some "bad ones" as well. Let me just note one of the very good ones, for those who need a start.
I have found that Richard Foster's book on Prayer is among the best introductions to this wonderful diversity. Reading a chapter a week and then daily practicing (experimenting if you will) with that form of prayer would be of great benefit for learning to pray.
Another help is to use a prayer book. This is not a book that teaches you to pray. This is a book of prayers that models the way. I use prayer books regularly and they provide language, themes, a vision of God and ways of praying that are outside my typical thoughts. I use a different prayer book every year. I don't use it every day, but on many days I do.
Another help in learning to pray is to work with a spiritual mentor. One of the great offerings of spiritual mentors was their ability to teach others how to pray. In this, they imitate Jesus, the Great Master, who prayed so wonderfully, that his disciples simply asked Him, "Teach us to pray."
In one sense, the prayer books of the church and the books on prayer, are having a distance mentor who guides us through the printed page.
But whatever you do and in all things . . .
May Jesus be your Teacher of Prayer,
and may your life of prayer flower in the season ahead.
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com
