Prayer
What is Prayer?
Positions for Prayer
Jesus' Teaching About Prayer
'A Day in the Life of a Monk'
Prayer
For all Christians, praying is very important, because it
makes their relationship with God stronger, and they
believe it changes them and the world in which they live.
What is it?
Praying is much more than giving God a
list of stuff you want him to do, although
sometimes it can be like that!!
It is more to do with spending time enjoying
God's company, a bit like you would do
with your best friend. Asking questions,
talking about your family and friends,
wondering about the future, saying sorry,
saying thank-you, listening to what they
have to say, not worrying about silence, just
glad to be with them.
Prayer
Personal Prayer
Every Christian needs to pray privately, even one of the most well
known Christian leaders living today, spends time alone in prayer to
God.
Jesus told his followers (Christians) to
shut themselves in their room and pray in
secret, because God hears and answers in
secret! In other words, Christians can pray
at any time and anywhere that gives them
space on their own. A lot of people find a
quiet room in their home.
Ellie prays in her bedroom. Others might pray when they walk the dog, or
when they are riding to school or work! You don't have to pray out loud, you
can pray in your mind, or just be quiet and listen.
Public Prayer
When Christians meet together, they often make time to pray.
This is because Jesus said that when Christians agree to pray
together about something, God hears and answers.
Sometimes it is just a group of friends praying for one another,
or for something that concerns them.
In church, public prayers are often led by one
person, who may read a set prayer, or pray out
loud on behalf of everyone. Usually this is the
Vicar or a church leader, but sometimes others
may do this, like the ladies in our picture.
Everyone joins in by thinking about what is being prayed, and then
saying 'Amen' at the end. Sometimes all will say a prayer together.
One of the best known is the prayer Jesus taught his followers, called
the Lord's Prayer.
A lot of churches have special prayer services, when everyone who
attends is invited to take part in prayer.
Meditative Prayer
There are different ways to pray. In this type of prayer a
Christian will meditate (think deeply) about God. This
involves organising a time when you will be on your own
in silence. You will use something - often some sentences
from the Bible, which talk about God - to help you
meditate.
-
This means you will think about the
meaning of the words, use your
imagination to picture God, ask God to
help you understand, or help you obey
what he has said to you, ask questions, in
order to grow closer to God.
Christian meditation is very different from some forms of meditation that
come from other religions. Many Christians would be worried about
sharing in these other forms of meditation.
Prayer
Positions for Prayer
Positions for Prayer
The Bible talks about many different positions being used when people are
praying. They are all used by Christians today.
Eyes and head raised upwards to God.
"I lift my eyes to you, O God enthroned in heaven."
(The Bible, Psalm 123 verse 1)
This girl is leading prayers in an Anglican church.
Humble kneeling.
"Come let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is
God."
(The Bible, Psalm 95 verse 6)
This man is praying in an Anglican church.
Eyes closed, concentrating on God.
"Keeping our eyes on Jesus."
(The Bible, Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2)
This girl goes to a Brethren church.
Positions for Prayer
Hands and head raised to heaven.
"Lifting up my hands to you in prayer."
(The Bible, Psalm 63 verse 4)
This girl is leading prayers in an Afro-Caribbean church.
Head bowed in respect to God.
"Come let us worship and bow down."
(The Bible, Psalm 95 verse 6)
These people are praying in an Orthodox church.
Prostrate - lying flat on the ground in humility.
"I lay prostrate before the Lord."
(The Bible, Deuteronomy chapter 9 verse 18)
These priests are praying in a Roman Catholic church
Prayer
Jesus' Teaching About Prayer
What Did Jesus Teach About Prayer?
Where can we pray?
The Bible tells us that Jesus prayed in
many different places - the Synagogue,
the Temple, the countryside - even in a
garden.
He taught that it was important to
find a quiet place to pray to God.
"When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the
This chapel for prayer is
in
St. David's Cathedral
door behind you, and pray to your Father
secretly." (The Bible, Matthew chapter 6 verse
6, NLT)
Today, many church buildings are left open through the day so that
people can go there to pray.
Don't Give Up!
Jesus told a story to encourage his
followers not to give up praying,
even if God doesn't seem to answer
quickly, or in the way we expect.
The Friend at Midnight (The Bible, Luke chapter 11 verses 5 - 9, NLT)
'Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to
him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have
nothing to set before him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already
locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you
anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread
because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get
up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you.'
Our Father
In his best known prayer ("The Lord's
Prayer") Jesus taught Christians to call
God "Our Father in heaven". (The
Bible, Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 13.) Like a loving father, God listens
to our prayers and always gives his
best. Sometimes,, this may not always
be exactly what we want - sometimes
a loving parent even has to use the
word no!
Let's look at
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven
Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Help us to respect your name
Thy kingdom come
Be our king!
Thy will be done
Have your way on earth
On earth as it is in heaven
Like you do in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
Give us today the things we need
And forgive us our trespasses
Forgive us for the things we do wrong
As we forgive those who trespass against us As we forgive people who have hurt us
And lead us not into temptation
Help us not to do wrong things
But deliver us from evil
And protect us from harm
For thine is the kingdom
For everything is yours
And the power and the glory
-all the power and glory in the world
For ever and ever
Now and for always
Amen
I really mean this prayer.
Prayer
'A Day in the Life of a Monk'
A Life of Prayer
Some Christians want to devote their whole lives to
prayer. They may do this by joining a Christian
community which devotes much of its life to the
discipline of prayer. People in these communities are
called monks or nuns. The communities are often
named after famous Christians who started them like
St. Francis or St. Benedict.
'A Day in the Life of a Monk'
For most people, the only
monks they come across are in
Brother Cadfael or The Name
of the Rose, and the only signs
that they once existed are the
ruined abbeys and priories that
dot the English landscape, and
the survival of their titles in
place names, like Abbey Road.
It often comes as a surprise to learn that
they are also real people, living and
working in the twenty-first century. For
there are still monasteries of monks and
nuns in England, most of them belonging
to the Roman Catholic Church, all of
them witnessing to God by their life of
prayer and by a rich variety of works
including teaching, running parishes,
giving retreats, creating beautiful objects
like stained glass and ceramics, and
inspiring others with uplifting music and
worship.
A Day in the Life ... of a Monk
Unlike missionaries and friars, who
travel about quite a lot in the course of
their work, monks tend to stay put in
one place, so that the monastery which
they make their home becomes a focus
for the prayer life of the local
community and a stable point in a
rapidly changing world.
My home is at Downside Abbey in
Somerset, where I live with about
thirty other monks. I have several
different jobs, which I carry out in
the gaps between the fixed times of
prayer when all the monks come
together to praise God.
A Day in the Life ... of a Monk
This is a typical day:
6.00 a.m.
The day begins with the service of
VIGILS in the Abbey Church: this is
the first and longest part of the
'Divine Office' which gives a
framework to the monastic day.
During Vigils we sing psalms and
canticles from the Bible and listen to
the Word of God and to the writings
of Church Fathers.
There follows a half-hour break for
private prayer.
7.05 a.m.
LAUDS. This if the Office of Praise,
when we joyfully greet the dawn
and ask God's blessing on the day's
work; Lauds is shorter than Vigils,
and more 'upbeat' in tone.
7.30 a.m.
Breakfast, taken in silence in the Monks' Refectory.
8.35 a.m.
MASS. The whole community
is gathered together for the
celebration of the eucharist, in
which we remember the saving
sacrifice of Christ, and renew
the offering of ourselves to
God. At Mass, since I am
Choirmaster, I lead the monks
in their singing of Gregorian
chant. Together with the choir
from our boarding school, we
have made two very successful
CDs of our singing. The whole
school joins us for Mass on
Sunday mornings.
9.15 a.m.
After Mass, the monks go about their
different jobs, whether it be teaching in
the school, looking after a local parish, or
dealing with visitors. A lot of my time is
taken up with computer work, as I edit
our quarterly journal, The Downside
Review, and most jobs that need IT skills
seem to come my way. I also run our
Conference Centre, so there will be
'phone calls, e-mails and letters to sort
out.
1.10 p.m.
MIDDAY PRAYER. In the middle of our working
day, we pause to remember that it is God who gives
value to our work and sustains us in our labours.
This if followed by lunch. We begin by singing grace
together; then, as we eat in silence, one of the brethren
reads to us an extract which the Abbot has chosen: it
might be an academic article from a journal, or a
sermon or lecture.
In the afternoons I try to get away
from my computer screen, though I
don't always succeed. If at all
possible I will try to do something
more physical, and there are always
jobs to be done. I spend quite a lot of
time maintaining a hostel for student
groups which I look after.
5.45 p.m.
VESPERS. Together with Lauds, Vespers is one of the
'hinges' of the day. For most of the community, the
working day is done, and it is time to give thanks to God
for the graces he has given during the day, in prayer and
singing.
After Vespers, there is another half-hour of silence so that
we can pray privately or meditate on a passage of the
Bible.
6.45 p.m.
Supper. As with the other meals, this is
taken in silence, but the reading is
lighter and more entertaining: it may
be biography, history or travel writing.
7.15 p.m.
Community Recreation. After we have tidied up in the
refectory, this is the time to relax together as a monastic
family, to swap news, ideas, stories, and just to be together.
It is important to have this time for conversation, as
monasteries are very busy places, and people might not
otherwise get the chance to talk.
8.00 p.m.
Compline. The last part of the Divine
Office, which we sing by heart in the
darkened Church. After Compline there
is silence in the monastery until
breakfast the next morning.
Some will go to bed soon afterwards;
for others there is still work to be done:
the school will not quieten down until
11.30 p.m. I tend to get to bed around
10.30 p.m.
Life as a monk is not as leisurely as it
can seem from the outside, and can be
compared to the swan gliding
gracefully on the surface of the water,
while underneath its feet are working
frantically. But for those who are
suited to its orderliness and sense of
purpose, it is a life that is richly
rewarding.
Each of the monks has his own
room, which we call 'cells',
though they are more
comfortable than prison cells!
I do most of my work from my
own room, so it functions also
as an office, with lots of filing
trays and hundreds of books. I
find I have to be very
imaginative about making best
use of the space!
Dom Dunstan O'Keeffe
Downside Abbey, Somerset
Amen