Prayer

Prayer is a foundational pillar of our Christian faith. It is prayer that develops our understanding and fosters our transformation. From the earliest moments of our journeys of faith, we encounter prayer. It is a gift to be able to turn to prayer in bad times, and good times.

What is Prayer?

Prayer is being purposefully in God’s tender and loving presence where thoughts, emotions, and words can move in both directions.

The most foundational prayer for us is the prayer that Jesus taught us. The Lord’s Prayer is often recited aloud back towards God. Yet, not all prayer follows this same pattern. There will forever be more to learn & experience in prayer. The majority of monastic practices are types of prayer. Some may be practices you do with regularity. Some may be familiar, but not something you have done. There may be other practices that you were unaware of.

One of our prayers for you is that you will experience a deepening prayer life. This may happen by focusing on a specific practice, or from venturing across the fields of prayer. There is fruit and God’s presence to be found in each pursuit.

As a monastic group, we will highlight and focus our attention regularly on praying the Divine Office. This is not from a belief that it will be the most meaningful to you. Instead, the discipline of fixed hour prayer has cultivated abundant fruit in monastic lives for millennia.

Common Prayer Fallacies

Prayer is a global idea. There are aspects of other religious and cultural approaches to prayer that are out of step with Christianity. We can also see much of ourselves in our particle understanding of God. The invitation into prayer is the same as the invitation to humility, meekness, graciousness, love, and tenderness. Let us be aware of these fallacies as we come to God in prayer. May we pursue the depths of understanding and transformation. A partial list of these fallacies is included here.

Prayer will not:

  • Force God to act against God’s will/work/character.
  • Absolve us of our responsibilities
    • Especially when it comes to making amends for our sins.
  • Fail if our words, formulas, incantations are imperfect.
  • Work better if we are better.
  • Increase God’s love for us
    • It can increase our love for God.