As we embrace the creator in prayer we begin to learn how deep and multifaceted God is.  We too as humans approach God from many facets, perceptions and failings. When I reflect upon this and combine that with the multitude of distractions that can occur I realize the ways in which this can change how and if I respond to Gods presence in my life. There is that part of me that thirsts for the encounter with the Holy and also the part that wants to shrink back from the same.

     I have learned much  about myself through the experiences that I have had in my life.  The same experiences also can effect how I view God and how I also respond to God.  As my view of God and myself deepens, the interaction between us will most definitely grow and change with time.  I believe this to be no different for humankind.  As my theology changes or solidifies through time, this will not only change how I pray or encounter the Holy, but will affect how I serve in the ministry of Spiritual Direction. 

     This interaction with God in prayer seems to be a combination of my choice and God’s grace.  As to my choice it is for me to be aware and to respond while at the same time it is by God’s grace and mercy that the ability to interact even exists.  Prayer practices seem to vary with each individual, I am no different. The Ulanovs state:

There is no one right way to pray.  The more we pray and the more we learn abou the way others pray, the more sure we become about this.  Different approaches abound to provide room for each of us to explore, improvise, and find his or her own way in prayer.  They support us as we begin to take hold of the astounding truth that God loves us in the flesh, that our reality is reality.

For me my most regular and common form of prayer is connected with my everyday.  I desire to have regular times of conversation with God, but to say that I am going to pray everyday at 5:00 does not work with me.  What I have found that works best is to attach my prayer times to my everyday activities.  When making the bed, I pray.  When running, I pray.  Each time I begin to read a book, I pray.  By connecting my regular interactions with God I am able to have a broader sense of Gods presence in my routine.  This is not to say that I do not have other times set aside  to pray, but I am trying to make my prayer to be part of who I am and what I do.  I have noticed that this regularity has brought a rhythm of sorts to my day.

     Included in these times are my praises, thanks, and requests.  At times they may also be my laments or times of questioning why.  It is in these daily incorporated prayers that I pray for my times of direction and the people that come to me for spiritual direction.  As a regular matter of course I end each session of direction by asking them if there is anything that they would have me pray for.  This is usually coupled with anything else that may have come up within our meeting time.

        Other prayer practices that I have made part of my life include Lectio Divina, Apophatic or silent prayer, and The Examen.
 I seem to be drawn to these particular forms of prayer, none of which were a part of my prayer life or practice for most of my life.  Each one of these seem to inform me and address my soul needs from different perspectives.  Being  a deep thinker and currently in an academic setting, studying scripture can become just an academic pursuit, but I find great balance and I seem to be filled when I pray through scripture using Lectio.  Being silent in prayer is something that I wanted to experience for some time.  It seems as though most prayer can be a one sided conversation, and with silent prayer I get to wait upon God and to be there present for Him.  Many times nothing startling happens but I do have such a sense of God’s presence and a sense of peace at times.  The above mentioned prayers definitely challenge and change me and my relationship with God.  However, the prayer of Examen is one which lets me know and notice God’s presence and activity in my everyday.  Daniel Wolpert states:

We live in the nitty-gritty of the world.  We go to work, spend time with our friends, wash dishes, and do chores.  Isn’t there a prayer practice for these times?  Saint Ignatius’ prayer of examination (or Examen, as is has come to be called) is a prayer practice that seeks the immanent– meaning close by, near, or indwelling — aspect of God.  This is the God who is with us always.  This is the God who knows our thoughts before we think them.  It is the God who is in everything and is at the heart of all.

Rather than reviewing my day with the Examen at the the end of the day, I tend to review the previous day the morning of the next.  By just looking for the freedom or constriction, desolation or consolation, in my day I am able to gather a sense of where the Divine was throughout my day and to see more clearly how I played a part in the process.

     These forms of prayer have had a profound effect upon me as a person and allow me the oppportunity to grow as a person and in my relationship with God.  They help me tune in to the Spirit and to gain a stronger connection with the Holy.  I know that God desires this encounter with me and others.  In the ministry of Spiritual Direction, it is this posture of prayer throughout my life and specifically before and after I meet with those I journey with as a director that quickens God’s spirit within me.  This allows me to be the best tool that I can be in the hands of God.

     Willaim Barry writes, the spiritual life and the practice of spiritual direction assume that God acts in the world and can be experiemced in the world.  God the creator of all that is in the universe has acted and put within us an impulse for us to encounter Him.  We as human beings by and with God’s grace can choose to respond to this encounter and to have a relationship with the Divine through Jesus Christ.  We can for a variety of reasons be distracted, resistant and ambivalent.  But God has given us the desire and the way to have this relationship.  Within my ministry as a spiritual director Ihave people who are searching, who are responding, who are acknowledging the presence of God in their lives through many differnt situations and with a multitude of lenses with which they see the Holy.  It is at the intersection of theology, prayer and life that this encounter of the Divine occurs.

I would encourage you to make a personal reflection of prayer and what it is for you.  Perhaps write it down and sit with it for a while.  If there is something that you wish to share please feel free to comment.

Picture: Prayer, byPrakhar

Quote: William Barry, A. SJ, Spiritual Direction and the Encounter with God

              Ann and Barry Ulanov, Primary Speech: A Psychology of Prayer 

             Daniel Wolpert, Creating a Life with God: The call of Ancient Prayer Practices

Tagged as: Prayer, Spiritual Direction, Theology