By Timmy Horng

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:24 (NIV)

Well, Jesus. I’ve prayed for things—good, just things—and believed with all of my heart, and they did not become mine.

“God answers every prayer, though not always with the answer we want,” they say. The numerous platitudes designed to assuage Christians’ doubts about prayer have not worked on me. The analogies describing God’s perfect knowledge and plans, far surpassing my own, have done little to placate my suspicions that our prayers are often nothing more than wishful thinking. If God is going to “answer” in his way, I’m inclined to say we might as well roll dice.

So, are prayers Sisyphean tasks? If we treat them as barely more than appeals to influence God’s actions, they can certainly seem so. Because of this, I rarely pray anymore. At least not with my eyes closed.

Over time, as I became more and more disillusioned with the prayers that came from “my heart,” I came to deeply appreciate the prayers composed by the corporate Church over the centuries. Now, whenever I “pray,” my eyes are literally open—I’m reading my prayers, written by other people. Once, when I was going through a tough time, Ken gifted me the Paraclete Psalter, a collection of all 150 Psalms, arranged by a monastic community for their daily fixed-hour prayers. The introduction quotes Athanasius: “For I believe that the whole of human existence, both the dispositions of the soul and the movements of the thoughts, has been measured out and encompassed in those very words of the Psalter.” The Psalms may be old, but they certainly are not outdated.

The prayers I often use for opening our Sunday services are collects that come from the Book of Common Prayer (bcponline.org). These tried-and-true prayers, like the Psalter, often reflect the very things I personally wish for our church community. Whenever we read and hear the written prayers in our Sunday services—the psalms, the common prayers, the confessions, the benedictions—are we not surprised at how personally relevant they often are? How much they remind us of things that have happened to us, give voice to our emotions and desires, and shape us to participate in the divine work of this world?

Reading prayers slowly and out loud helps me see and hear the words I am saying. It engages me in a heartfelt prayer that was written by someone else, whose words connect the highs and lows of my own life to those of his or hers and countless others. It reminds me that even when God’s ears seem deaf to my requests, he has given me the gift of his people. When I read these prayers with the Church, I am not alone, even if I am the only person in the room. 

I have come to understand prayer not so much as something we use to change God, but more as something he uses to change us. I am sure many of us still make requests of God, praying from “the heart,” and find that the very act of prayer encourages us to move in ways that respond to our needs and the needs of the world. By no means do I aim to discourage those of you who choose to pray spontaneously. And those of us who take time to compose prayers for others to hear are a great blessing to the community. But whether we pray words of our own or those written by others, we join a chorus of people that shares in the joys, sorrows, thanksgivings, and disappointments of prayers that have echoed throughout creation. And with them, we find ourselves changing for the better.

A prayer from Scot McKnight’s blog:

God of All Patience,

You created and permitted creation to form into humans,
You watched Adam and Eve sin and you waited,
You made covenant with Abraham and you waited,
You liberated the children of Israel from Egypt and you waited,
You gave your people the Law and you waited,
You opened the waters to the Land and then waited,
You made kings and prophets and waited,
You waited more,

And only then did you send your Son and your Spirit – after all that waiting,

Grant to us divine patience in our homes and with our families,
Patience waiting for our country’s healing from this virus,
Patience in waiting for so many intrusions to sort themselves out,
Patience in waiting for one another in our communities.

That we might display to others divine patience,
The kind of patience that evokes your goodness and grace and understanding,

Through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
Now and forever.

Amen

By Luke Lebsack

Let me start by saying I suck at meditation. On my phone there are currently three meditation apps, two of which I’ve never opened and one that has for the last three months been congratulating me on completing my first lesson. People like meditation; it’s good for you, by now most of us know this (if you don’t know this you can read about it).  Over the years I’ve put meditation in the same category as kale smoothies or early morning jogging. It’s healthy and I know I should do it but let’s be real; the only people who actually do that sort of stuff are either trying to get Instagram famous or drive a Subaru. 

So what does meditation look like as a spiritual discipline for a novice like me? Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge that there’s nothing inherently spiritual or religious about meditation. Meditation, generally speaking, is a technique to focus intently on something or to encourage mindfulness about our experiences. Meditation is a tool that can be used in conjunction with prayer to develop our spiritual practice. Why is this distinction important?

Historically my reasoning for creating a meditative practice has always been to accrue the health and psychological benefits that come along with it, which is a good thing. However, when we use meditation as a spiritual discipline it’s done in conjunction with prayer. Our intention must shift away from the western default of self-betterment and instead reflect a desire to grow closer to God. Said another way, if I was to begin a diet that uses fasting to lose weight this might be a good choice for my health. But if on the other hand I chose fasting as a spiritual discipline so that I could lose weight the discipline itself becomes clouded by the intensions from which the actions are originating. In short, any kind of meditation would almost certainly have positive benefits on our brain’s health but when we add prayer to our meditation our focus should be on Christ.

Ok, we got the disclaimers out of the way. You’re bored at home and not doing anything, let’s strap up our brain boots and wade through the waters of Christian meditation. Where do we start? I don’t know, (we’ve been over this) so I asked my enlightened friend Lacey and my other less enlightened friend the internet.

Lacey’s Helpful Hints:

1. Start short, 1-5 minutes of mediation is totally fine to start
2. Sit, walk, or stand, be comfortable but don’t lie down if you’ll fall asleep
3. Be kind to yourself, if you lose focus or get distracted there’s no reason to be frustrated
4. Study yourself, notice what your body and mind are trying to tell you
5. Pray before or after you meditate, you will be able to get more out of both disciplines together
6. Just do something, what meditation you do matters less than the fact that you did it

Easy Christian meditation from the internet:

Concentration Meditation:

1. Find a short phrase or mantra you wish to meditate on
   • A mantra I used was “my peace I give to you” -John 14:27
2. Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Relax your breath to a neutral state.
3. Begin saying your mantra audibly in natural rhythm with your breath, focusing on its sound.
4. After 10 or so repetitions recite the mantra silently in your mind
5. If your mind begins to wander return to the mantra focusing on the sound of the words
6. Continue for as long as you feel is beneficial
7. Say a short prayer to end your session

Mindfulness Meditation:

1. Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Relax your breath to a neutral state.
2. Feel your breath going in and out and focus on its pattern
3. Eventually your mind will leave your breath and begin to wander.
4. When you notice that you have gotten so caught up in your thoughts that you have forgotten that you’re sitting in the room, gently bring yourself back to the breath.
5. After your focus begins to wane begin a prayer recognizing the thoughts that were interrupting your focus or preventing you from being present.

Escape Quarantine Meditation:

1. Go on a walk in an peaceful environment
2. In silence begin focusing on your steps
3. Focus on the mechanics of your body thinking either heel, toe or left, right with each step
4. As before your mind will eventually leave your breath and begin to wander.
5. When you notice that you have gotten so caught up in your thoughts that you have forgotten that you’re walking, gently bring yourself back to your steps.
6. After your focus begins to wane begin a prayer recognizing the thoughts that were interrupting your focus or preventing you from being present.

These are only a few of the hundreds of other meditation styles you can try. This week I’ve practiced the walking meditation mostly simply because it was an excuse to take a second walk every day. I don’t think I’ve reached enlightenment yet but there is a calm that comes with intentionality.

For me personally COVID-19 has stolen my ability to feel in control of my own life. Meditation is helping me realize I was never truly in control of the world around me. But it’s also helping me control my inner self and it’s bringing out the stifled fears I should have long ago brought to prayer. For me, and maybe for you, even small acts of mindfulness are a positive step towards dealing with the emotions that endless Netflix binges have been enabling us to avoid.

Sources:

hhhhttps://www.yogajournal.com/poses/mantra-meditation

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-courage-be-present/201001/how-practice-mindfulness-meditation

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/walking_meditation