How we act on that trust, our actual style of prayer, will vary from person to person, from one situation to another, from one point in our journey to the next. Prayer is most definitely not “one size fits all,” any more than I could reasonably walk into your home and expect to be able to wear anything I see, or put on the clothes I wore 40 years ago. One person will find God in the stillness of centering prayer; another will best express her heart’s longing in a prayer language, speaking in tongues; a third will turn to the words of the Church in the Book of Common Prayer; and yet another will use arrow prayers that are hardly more than a breath in length. Once we accept the invitation to pray shamelessly and boldly, we’re free to explore the manner of our prayer in many directions. That it’s good to pray is a given for Christians; how we pray varies infinitely…and that’s a good thing, as it reflects our uniqueness and diversity as children of the living God.
When we pray, we’re turning to the creator of the universe, the one who stills the storm and casts out evil, God Almighty, whose presence is in wind and fire and absolute silence…we’re marching right up to the door of that God, with audacity and shamelessness, trusting that by virtue of our relationship we have a right to be there...and knowing that as soon as we knock, the whole encounter is out of our control...*
originally posted by Betsy St. Mark's Episcopal
thought you might find the following insightful for your prayer journey:
excellent descriptive methods of prayer from MethodX way of Christ by Upper Room
links to Book of Common Prayer:
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