Jesus’s disciples asked Him how to pray and the Lord’s Prayer was essentially the framework He gave them (and us) for prayer: focussing initially on God (‘hallowed be Your name‘) and God’s kingdom (‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven’), then looking for God to meet our daily needs (‘give us today our daily bread’, acknowledging that we are physical creatures as well as spiritual beings) and asking for help in living in right relationship with Him and with other people (‘forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors’) and for help in avoiding temptation and the ploys of the enemy (‘lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one’). If we keep to this framework, we will be able to pray according to God’s will.
Prayer is more than kneeling in a room and saying the words of the Lord’s Prayer, however, and the Day of Prayer on 16th March at Furlong Road Methodist Church is an opportunity to pray for extended periods of time (if possible, though any time spent there will be useful!) By opening the building from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., we are acknowledging that it is good to set longer periods of time aside for God and to explore our relationship with Him in different ways. So there will be the opportunity to take part in meditative colouring, praying as we walk a prayer labyrinth, using ‘forgiveness stones‘ to let go of past hurts and ‘act out’ the need to forgive others as we have been hurt and wounded, creating ‘hope blossoms’ to tell God of our deepest longings. These are not ‘magic’ ways of praying, but creative ways of digging deeper into our hearts to share our hopes, fears, desires and wounds with the God who knows us intimately and loves us profoundly. There will also be the opportunity to share in Communion during the day and meditate on the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I would urge all who can to attend the Day of Prayer and for those who can’t to commit to a time of prayer in your own homes or workplaces. Prayer can be anywhere (I find boring bus journeys particularly useful for praying; others like to pray while out walking the dog.) It can be words said out loud or whispered in our own hearts. It can be in just about any format you like. What matters is that we learn to pray every way we know how for everyone we know! (1 Tim 2:1, The Message)