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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
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Thoughts on prayerby Rosie FindlaterRaymond Chapman's four week lecture series this year were about prayer, in the Christian and other faiths. We were given a great deal of material over the four weeks and it would be an impossible task to record all of it here. Raymond went back to early times, when there were house churches. St Paul wrote to these house churches and his letters were probably passed round – by the Corinthians, Philippians, Galatians etc. The Christian church and prayer emerged from Judaism and the synagogue; every Sunday is a new Sabbath. Gradually custom built churches were instituted in imitation of the temple and the temple sacrifice was replaced by the Eucharist. It wasn't until about the Reformation that people became more aware of others as individuals, the Prayer Book was written by Cranmer and prayer became more formalised and people could take a more active part. The corporate prayer of the Church is the Eucharist, the Lord's supper, giving thanks and praise. Worship should be both from the heart and the mind. Personal prayer, talking to a loving Father, is central to a relationship with God The basic structure of prayer is the acronym ACTS: Adoration; Contrition; Thanksgiving; Supplication. In our prayer, it is also important to listen; a sense of assurance and receiving allows us to rest enfolded in God's love. Raymond recommends set times for prayer, but also allows the importance of arrow prayers. Every recollection of God brings us near to him. Prayer should be a time for intercessions and shared particular concerns; there is a tremendous value in family prayer. Prayer leads to a deeper relationship with God, and a deeper faith. Other faiths place great value on regular prayer times and it is important that we pray for other faiths. For all faiths prayer is in a way a sacrifice, and it arises most strongly in times of tension. Raymond talked about Judaism and Islam, and then the non-Abrahamic religions; Hinduism has very elaborate rituals, involving rising before dawn. Buddhism has less sense of a personal God. Other ways of finding God are through the visual arts, music and literature. What all faiths have in common is that they need a transcendent being and need to recognise human weakness. All faiths have a sacred book and ours is the Bible. Raymond stressed the need for meditation, the goal of which is a closer union with God. The major difference in the Christian faith is that God has experienced human life. |
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