One of the challenges of retirement for me involved vacating an office that had floor-to-ceiling walls of bookshelves. Moving to a much smaller office at home, I needed to do some serious downsizing of my library. Different books made the cut for different reasons, of course—but I know that I kept one little book simply because of its title: Pray as You Can by Jean Gill.
I have always loved this simple advice about something many people of faith wrestle with, at least from time to time. What is prayer? How do I start? Is there a “right” way to pray?
And, as I’ve listened to a few of you reflect on your participation in the prayer vigil the Pastor Nominating Committee is sponsoring this weekend, I have heard you express various concerns. “I’m not sure how I would fill 30 minutes with prayer.” “I’m not feeling much like praying these days.” “I don’t have time.” “I’m pretty busy with travel and kids and other family obligations.”
And it has made me wonder if there are ways that our understanding of prayer keeps us from actually praying. Gill’s advice to “pray as you can, not as you can’t” encourages us to expand our notions of prayer and to consider and explore new ways to pray. The kind of prayer that you find most meaningful might not offer the same connection to God for me. And the way I prayed at an earlier time in my life might not be as satisfying or nourishing as it once was. Some use many words in their prayers; some use very few or no words. Some find it meaningful to pray with a passage of Scripture; others write—or even draw or paint—their prayers. Some pray in a special place at a particular time each day; others connect to God in prayer as they walk in nature.
Prayer can be many things; there is no “right” way to pray. The important thing is to find your way—or ways—to pray. Another wise teacher of prayer, Roberta Bondi, said that “prayer is our end of a relationship with God.” We come as we are to that relationship and, thanks be to God, God meets us there.
Grace and peace,
Jean Dow
Transitional Associate Pastor
