Prayer is probably the best resource you and I have for strengthening and maintaining some depth in our spiritual lives. John Wesley said that the absence of prayer is probably the primary cause for any spiritual dryness.

Most of you believe in prayer. You may not understand how it works. You may not be able to explain it to someone else. But you believe. Even many casual Christians generally believe in prayer. Interestingly, a Gallup poll shows that most Americans pray at least several times each week. Given the secular nature of life, that seems somewhat astonishing.

A recent article said that people over 60 pray more than others. Maybe they’re cramming for the finals? Maybe they’re reflecting on a life of wisdom and perspective? Older people generally know that the best way to deal with crises and health issues, or to manage stress, is through prayer. Prayer is the best way to feel better and to maintain health. Any of you who may have seen Kirk Douglas this morning on the Robert Schuller worship hour heard him talk in a very interesting way about the role of prayer in the later years of his life, especially since he’s had a stroke.

Mostly, however, our real prayer life is limited. We pray at mealtimes, at bedtimes, and in church. That pretty much encompasses the scope of prayer in our lives.

Some people, of course, are more passionate about their prayer times. There’s a story of an old farmer who stopped into a diner for a meal before heading home. When the waitress brought his food to the table, he took off his straw hat, bowed his head, folded his hands, and offered prayer. Two cocky, loud-mouthed city guys were in the next booth. “Hey, old man,” one of them called, “is that what everyone does out there on the farm?”

The old farmer looked up and said, “Yes, son, everyone—with the exception of the pigs.”

Most of us are fairly casual about prayer. And most of us would admit we fall far short of our text for today. Paul says, “Pray without ceasing,” meaning pray all the time, pray regularly, pray systematically. In another place Paul says we should be constant or persistent in prayer.

All of this reflects the teaching of our founder, John Wesley, who said that prayer is very much like spiritual breathing. Prayer should happen as naturally and as easily as every breath we take. I like the story about the 70-year-old bachelor who loved to tease his pastor each Sunday after church. He would offer him some sort of confounding question. One day he said to his pastor, “Pastor, which is more important, breathing in or breathing out?”

The pastor stood there dumbfounded and finally admitted he didn’t know. Came the reply, “It depends on which one you did last.”

Wesley seemed to teach that we should pray all the time. Our prayers should not necessarily be obvious, but they should be regular throughout the day. There’s a story about two priests who were arguing between themselves about whether it was appropriate to eat and pray at the same time. They finally decided to consult the Pope for an answer. One of them wrote to the Pope and asked, “Is it appropriate to eat while I pray?” Came the reply, “No, attention must be focused on prayer only.” The other priest wrote, “Is it appropriate to pray while I eat?” Came the reply, “Of course. It’s always appropriate to pray.”

We all need some enhanced prayer life. I do. You do. What might such enhancement look like? Let me offer several suggestions.

REGULAR REMINDERS

One thing you can do is to establish some regular reminders to prompt you to pray. What small signals can you use to increase your prayer life?

I know someone who prays while waiting at traffic lights. When the light is red and he’s waiting for it to turn green, he uses that to prompt him to pray. Elaine and I travel to Virginia often to see our daughter’s family. When we do so, we drive through Cumberland, Maryland. There is a traffic light on the main street of Cumberland, Maryland which I have dubbed the longest traffic light in the world. It occurs to me that if I had used that traffic light for prayer instead of for grumbling, I might be more mature in my spiritual life.

Another person suggests praying while waiting in the checkout line in the grocery store—maybe even while waiting in the long express lane. You know who the express lane is for, don’t you? The express lane is for people who cannot count to eight!

A third suggestion is to place post-it notes—or perhaps some more permanent variety of notes—around the house. Perhaps tape a little message to the telephone in order to prompt you to remember to pray for the person to whom you are speaking on the phone, or the person who has called you.

Maybe you want to put a beeper onto your Palm Pilot on the hour, a simple reminder to prompt you to pray this prayer, “Thank you, Lord, for my life right now.”

Any of these things will draw us closer to Paul’s counsel to pray without ceasing, to be constant in prayer. Reminders are helpful.

WRITTEN PRAYERS OF OTHERS

A second help in increasing your prayer life is to pray the prayers of others. If you are like me, you have a few books of prayers somewhere around the house. I own several. Some are in Old English. They use a lot of “thee” and “thou” in the language of prayer. Others are more modern. Malcolm Boyd’s Are You Running With Me, Jesus? Is such a prayer. Or Robert Raines’ prayer, “Lord, couldn’t you make it a little bit better?”

I use both kinds of books and both kinds of prayers. Occasionally I re-discover a book and I use it for a while because I haven’t read in it for a long time. I read a prayer, and then I pray the prayer. Such an experience reminds me that I don’t have to create all my own original prayers before God.

Or perhaps you consider prayers that you have memorized over the years. When you don’t know how to pray, or don’t know what to pray, pray a prayer you learned from memory. The Lord’s Prayer is one good example. I have a friend who is regularly nervous about flying. He has to fly a fair amount, and he’s not always comfortable on the plane. He said to us one time, “Do you know it takes 2-1/2 Lord’s Prayers to get a 727 off the ground?”

I like to pray the 23^rd Psalm. I like to put it in first person, so that it reads something like this, "Lord, you are my shepherd; I shall not want. You make me to lie down in green pastures. You lead me beside still waters. You restore my soul…”

Somewhere along the line in my life I learned a prayer that is called “The Collect for Purity.” It’s a beautiful prayer, and I can pray it with ease from memory. It reads like this:

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that I might perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name.

You don’t have to have the words exactly right. You can simply use the form. You do not have to be doggedly original in your prayers. To “pray without ceasing” can mean to pray the prayers of others—to pray the prayers that others have written and prayed.

EASILY REMEMBERED TOOL

John Wesley had a regular consistent bedtime ritual. First he reviewed the day. He went over the events of the day. Secondly he confessed the omissions or flaws out of the day. He admitted those before God. Thirdly, he resolved to make the new day better—not to repeat those omissions or mistakes of the day just past. Finally, he commended a night of rest to God’s care. Wesley used this formula every night. It was an easily remembered formula, and he used it well.

PRAYER AND WALKING

A fourth way to expand your prayer life is to try walking and prayer. I have learned over the years that I am not a contemplative. Some people are; I am not. My mind seems always restless.

I browsed a bit this week in a book by Kathleen Norris entitled The Cloister Walk. Kathleen Norris entered into the obedience of a Benedictine monastery. In a Benedictine order you pray at 7:00 a.m., at noon, and at vespers. Norris had to make a special place for herself in this order as a married person, but she followed the rule of prayer. She is a contemplative.

A friend of mine took three months of renewal leave this past summer. He spent much of the time in solitude and in prayer. It served him well.

Meditation retreats don’t work well for me. I have tried them along the way. Sitting quietly makes my mind wander easily. Walking helps. Walking is best for me. I found it interesting that Kathleen Norris entitled her book The Cloister Walk.[i]

 I found an interesting testimony of a woman who had walked the Labyrinth in 1998. Listen to her story.

 She said this was the first time in her whole life that she felt she had been able to truly pray, despite years and years of effort at setting aside a regular “quiet time” for devotional reading and prayer. With tears in her eyes, she explained that she had Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and that this brain condition made ordinary “quiet time” impossible for her. But walking the Labyrinth allowed her both the activity of “doing something” and the interior space to become inwardly still and meditative, to listen for the voice of God underneath the incessant buzzing of her mind.[ii]

Hers is obviously a special case, but it is instructive for me. I do not have ADD—or at least I don’t think I do—but I do know the experience out of which she speaks.

If you want to try multi-tasking in a Christian framework, try walking and praying. Even the hand-held Labyrinth can be helpful if you are unable to walk. The activity becomes tracing the path of the Labyrinth with your finger. We own three or four hand-held Labyrinths here at Christ Church and they are available for your use.

 SUMMARY