The thing about prayer is that it is so many things.  There are so many ways of praying, and some of them will resonate with us, and some won’t.  I would always encourage people to pray the way they can, not the way they can’t.

Many memories of school (hands together eyes closed) or church (someone at the front reading from the book) give us an idea of what prayer is, but a very incomplete one.  So today I am going to list various sorts of prayer with links to resources.

ACTS

When praying the acronym ACTS can be used
A  adoration
C  confession
T  Thanksgiving
S  Supplication

TSP (teaspoon)

T  thank you
S  sorry
P  please

These two approaches cover similar elements with different words.

• Adoration – recognising God’s kingship and honouring it.
• Confession – acknowledging the ways in which we have fallen short of God’s desire for our lives.
• Thanksgiving – searching out and recognising the good things that have happened to us (I know several people who as part of their prayer routine recall 15 good things that have happened that day – 15 so that it takes effort)
• Supplication – asking God for things – either for ourselves or for others

Within supplication there are Arrow Prayers, intercessions (the name often used in church services), cycles of prayer, where lists are kept.

Prayer is also a way of listening to God to seek God’s will.  There are may techniques for this:

• Journalling – keeping a prayer journal in which you document your thoughts regularly
• Ignatian Prayer
• Lectio Divina
• Labyrinth
• Pilgrimage – for example the Camino
• Prayer beads – either the Rosary or Pearls of Life
• Body Prayer – video
• Contemplative Prayer
• Christian Meditation
• Centering Prayer

Resources

• Teenage Prayer Experiment – a blog and book – don’t be put off by the title there are good ideas there.
• Sacred Space – Ignatian Prayer
• Pray as you Go – Ignatian Prayer
• Daily Prayer – Cof E daily prayer – set prayers
• Celtic Daily Prayer

The key is to find something that fits your circumstances and personality – if you try something out and it doesn’t work, then try something else – don’t assume that you can’t pray.

Alan