Prayer
Brother David Vryof of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston led a (virtual) diocesan vestry retreat day last Saturday entitled: “Seeking God Together: Prayerfully Guiding the Church.” In the first session, Brother David gave us some wonderful insights on prayer.
He asked us to consider whether our prayer is one-sided (i.e. we’re doing all the talking and God all the listening). Do we just view prayer as a task? Is it simply us asking for things?
He encouraged us to see God as the initiator of prayer, that it is God reaching out to us. If prayer is a conversation that God initiates, then we best experience it with a posture of receptivity. We become curious, asking: where will I find God today? How will God manifest God’s self today?
He told a story of when he used to play hide and seek with the “wee ones,” and how he would always let part of his shirt or foot stick out from where he was hiding because he wanted to be found. So it is with God. If we approach prayer with curiosity and a posture of receptivity, we are open to glimpses of God. It can happen in the beauty of the created world around us, in the kindness of a friend, by sharing a meal, in a quiet moment at the beginning or the end of the day or in countless other ways.
Br. David reminded us that, as with most things, practice helps us get better. By practicing prayer, practicing receptivity, we get better at seeing and hearing God in our prayer. Check out the wonderful prayer practices videos on our website and approach each day with the question: where will I find God today?
Peace,
Bill+
