Introduction to Prayer

Dwight Judy

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Active & Dispositional PrayerPaul Konkler, Don’t You Belong to Me? A Basic Introduction to the Spiritual

Life (New York: Paulist Press, 1979)

Human action –

“I” address God.

Adoration

Confession

Petition

Intercession

Thanksgiving

Praise

God’s action –

“I” dispose myself to listen for God

Lectio Divina

Prayer of Recollection

Contemplative or meditative prayer

Centering Prayer

Jesus Prayer

Praise

Prayer of Recollection

We call this prayer “recollection” because the soul collects its

faculties together in order to be within oneself with one’s God.

Teresa of Avila

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Prayer

Why do I Meditate?Because I am a Christian.

Because I am a preacher of the Word.

Because I need a firm discipline of prayer.

Because I need help against the unseemly haste and disquiet that also endanger my work as pastor.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Prayer

Necessity of prayer

Our first offering of the day to God

Danger to pastor losing personal devotion with duties of sermon preparation

Blending intercession and meditative prayer

Allowing Holy Spirit to pray with us

Dietrich Bonhoeffer onDaily Meditation

The Word of Scripture should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you

all day long, just like the words of someone you love. . . .

If your thoughts stray, while meditating, to people near to you or those about whom

you are concerned, then keep them there. That is the right place for intercession.

Rule of St. BenedictFifth Century

Opus Dei – daily office of prayer

Opus Manuum – manual labor

Lectio Divina – prayerful reading of scripture

Lectio DivinaReading – lectio

Meditating – meditatio

Praying – oratio

Contemplating – contemplatio

Lectio Divina

Seeking the “message” for us today – the WORD behind the words of Scripture.

DABHAR

Images from The Cloud of Unknowing

Beneath you and external to you lies the entire created universe.

Yes, even the sun, the moon and the stars. They are fixed above you, splendid in the firmament, yet they cannot compare to your exalted dignity as a human being.

By nature you are gifted with three marvelous spiritual faculties, Mind, Reason, and Will, and two secondary faculties, Imagination and Feeling.

There is nothing above you in nature except God. . . .

Images from The Cloud of Unknowing

 When you are reading books about the interior life and come across any references to yourself, understand it to mean your whole self as a human being of spiritual dignity and not merely your physical body.

As a person you are related to everything in creation through the medium of your faculties.

Prayer & PrayerfulnessPraying in the Holy Spirit

Prayer tends to follow instructions… prayerfulness does not…

Prayerfulness…is accepting without being passive, is grateful without giving up.

It is more willing to stand in the mystery, to tolerate ambiguity and the unknown.

(Larry Dossey, Healing Words, the power of prayer and the practice of medicine, p. 24)

Prayer & Prayerfulness

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever!

Lectio DivinaReading – lectio

Meditating – meditatio

Praying – oratio

Contemplating – contemplatio

Lectio Divina

Reading – lectio – senses

Meditating – meditatio – mental

Praying – oratio – emotional

Contemplating – contemplatio – outstrips the faculties

Acts 3:4-8