Tools for Prayer and Scripture Reading

Tools for Prayer and Scripture Reading

Christians hold two somewhat paradoxical beliefs about prayer. On the one hand, any Christian can pray: we have access to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. On the other hand, prayer is something that we learn and grow in; like a child learning to speak, “we do not know what to pray for as we ought,” and need the help—and training!—of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26). Like a child learning to speak, one way we learn to pray is by listening and repeating what we hear. Scripture and the Liturgies of the Church thus play a central role.

The Prayer Book reminds us to “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the Scriptures. As we hear them read and proclaimed, especially in Eucharistic worship and in the Daily Office, we come to know God. The Daily Office lectionary provides one consistent way to read Scripture; we “mark” Scripture by paying close attention to key themes, and trying to recognize patterns and interconnections between different passages, including the way that the whole of Scripture reveals Jesus Christ. Various study resources, commentaries, and interpretive materials from Christians through the ages also help us at this stage. “Learning” Scripture includes memorizing verses and larger passages—including passages in the liturgy. We “inwardly digest” them by meditating on them, reciting them, and bringing them continually to mind. The Catechism observes that “As I absorb Scripture, it becomes the lens through which I perceive and understand the events in my life and the world around me, and guides my attitudes and actions.”

The Catechism also notes that we “should ground [our] prayers in the Scriptures. One time-tested way of doing this is to pray the Psalms, which formed Jesus’ own prayer book.” Eugene Peterson encourages us to “open our Bibles to the book of Psalms and pray them—sequentially, regularly, faithfully across a lifetime. This is how most Christians for most of the Christian centuries have matured in prayer.” This is why the Psalms play such a central role in the Daily Office. The Daily Office also includes the Lord’s Prayer, another Biblical prayer, and one specifically commended to us by Jesus himself. Yet another way to pray Scripture is through Lectio Divina, or the practice of “spiritual reading,” whereby we slowly and repeatedly encounter the words of Scripture as a word to us. Tools such as Ignatian guided meditations can help us enter imaginatively into Scripture and encounter it in new ways. (See Mystical & Contemplative Spirituality.)

Beyond the basics of Scripture and Liturgy, there are many other tools which can help in prayer. Some simple guidelines like the acronym ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication), or the various petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, provide an outline from which we can proceed in extemporaneous prayer. Singing hymns and songs of praise can be a very helpful prayer practice; sometimes simply playing them in the background helps draw one’s attention to God’s presence. Physical actions like kneeling, raising one’s hands, or the sign of the cross are ways that our bodies as well as our minds and mouths participate in prayer. In order to engage the body and the physical senses, some people find it helpful to pray, or simply sit in silence, in front of a crucifix or icon. Others find that prayer beads such as the Anglican rosary, or a prayer rope, help them resist distraction. Often these are used to recite a very simple prayer, which eventually becomes embedded deep in one’s mind and heart, such as the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Finally, silence is an essential element of any healthy prayer life. Prayer is not a monologue, but a dialogue; God speaks, and we respond. Tools like centering prayer can help here. Silence gives us space to hear and welcome God as the one who wants us to know him, and who reveals himself to us.

Recommended Reading

Answering God, Eugene Peterson

Resources

Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Christopher A. Hall

Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI

Ascetical Theology

a. Prayer life and spirituality of minister b. Understanding of Spiritual Disciplines c. Spiritual Direction d. Rule of Life e. Daily Office f. Monasticism & its role in the development of our liturgy g. Missional applications of ascetical theology h. Monasticism and mission i. Mystical & Contemplative Spirituality j. Tools for Prayer and Scripture Reading k. Vocation l. Discernment m. Gifts & Fruit of the Spirit n. Stewardship