Depending on your Christian journey – when and how you came to faith, formative influences upon you, denominations and traditions you have been a part of etc – your understanding and experience of prayer may well vary considerably.

I grew up in an Anglican context hearing thoughtfully prepared, written prayers of intercession each week. But at university I went to an independent church where prayers were usually more spontaneous. It wasn’t a case of one being right and the other being wrong – they were just different.

I grew up in an evangelical tradition which put a lot of good emphasis on an individual quiet time. Personal prayer, we were taught, should take a particular pattern….Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication was a popular acronym that shaped what was encouraged.

I know others who have grown up praying more ‘set’ prayers; or daily praying the Lord’s Prayer; enjoying extended times of silence, or prayerfully meditating upon Scripture. I know people who pray in tongues, or receive words and pictures from God when they pray, or love to express their heart to God through creative means. And there are others who enjoy Lectio Divina­ – a kind of prayerful placing of yourself into the Bible.

Part of my journey has been God enabling me to see the extraordinarily rich breadth of different ways that Christians have prayed throughout the ages. It’s not that one way is right, and the others wrong…it is, I think, simply a reflection of different people, different characters, different personality types…expressing those differences in the way they pray.

At its heart, prayer is about being in relationship with God. And just like relationship with another person contains all sorts of styles of communication, so does prayer. Person-to-person communication might include asking, it might include talking something through; it might include listening or sitting and enjoying the company of another; it might include lamenting…pouring out your heart; it might include extolling and delighting in something. It might include confessing something, or receiving in some way from the other. And it might include breathing deeply and just being.

I think, before prayer is about what we say, or the technique we use, prayer is about doing what it takes to put ourselves in that place to deepen and strengthen our relationship with God. And that’s going to look like different things for different people. And it’s going to look like different things in different seasons, or even at different times of the same day. But when we put ourselves in a place to receive from God, you know what….then we do!

One of the benefits of being a Christian, is that we belong to a family of believers that stretches back to the time of Jesus. We can learn from others and their experiences and insights, and learn to enjoy ways of praying that might be unfamiliar to us. Yes, we need to discern whether something is good and right by God, but we shouldn’t be afraid of something that comes from a tradition that isn’t our own.

Throughout the month of February the Spiritual practice we are focusing on is prayer. We encourage you to try and find a rhythm of prayer that works for you. We encourage you to try something new…maybe something that is from a completely different Christian tradition than you’re used to. Or read something about prayer. Or listen to some talks on prayer. But best of all….pray!

With that in mind, we are giving you a Prayer card….at least, a pdf one! On this card are 3 ideas for praying through the month of February. Why not give one or all of them a go.

The Prayer Card suggests praying a Psalm in the morning – read through a Psalm and use it to lead you into prayer. Psalms are the ancient prayerbook of God’s people through the ages. I’ve recently found that by reading a Psalm out loud to myself, it actually comes alive a bit more to me.

The second suggestion is to pray the Lord’s Prayer at noon. I was in conversation with someone recently when their phone alarm went off – they took it out their pocket to turn it off and explained that it was a daily reminder to pray the Lord’s prayer. See the Lord’s prayer as an invitation into the ways and heartbeat of God. Take Jesus’ invitation to pray like this…

The third suggestion is something called the Prayer of Examen, and whilst usually practiced in the evening, it doesn’t have to be. The Examen was developed by St. Ignatius (1491-1556), and is simply understood as a way of reviewing your day and seeing God’s involvement and work in different ways. If you’re curious to find out more, just google the Examen – you’ll find all sorts of variations, although, by and large, they are all very similar.

Imagine replaying the day in your mind…a bit like a video - the Examen is a bit like this. Or one Catholic writer describes it as “rummaging for God”, likening it to “going through a drawer full of stuff, feeling around, looking for something that you are sure must be there.” That’s an accurate description of what it’s like to pray the Daily Examen. We look back on the previous day, rummaging through the “stuff,” and finding God in it. We know he is there.

For the sake of brevity we have borrowed and adapted this version…

• RECALL - Think through the day - its events, interactions and your emotions at different times. Where and how did you experience God in your day?

• REJOICE - Look back with gratitude over your day. What are you thankful for? Take some time to express your thanks to God.

• REFLECT - As you review your day it might be that things come to mind of where you fell short. Confess those things and receive God's grace anew.

• RENEW...with hope, consider tomorrow

But to unpack a bit more…

Recall – As you replay the day in your mind, where did you God “show up” for you? How did you feel His grace at work in your life? How did you experience his grace in and through others? Pay attention to your emotions at key times / events during the day…might God be saying something to you through these emotions?

Rejoice – this flows out of the first movement, and encourages you to express back to God thanks for the ways you have experienced His blessings. Look for goodness in other people; in nature; in accomplishments – God blesses you in all sorts of ways.

Reflect – as you are going through the events of the day it might be that God draws your gaze to a way you fell short…actions or thoughts that led you away from God. As you linger on this, you might want to confess it…to let it go…and to receive afresh God’s love and grace.

Renew – this is about beginning the process of looking ahead, and preparing for the next day and all that it holds. Anticipate situations and conversations already, and ask for God’s grace in advance.

People who practice the Prayer of Examen regularly say that it leads them into a deeper sense of God’s activity in their life, and an awareness of how God is at work and ‘speaks’ in their inner self.

Anyway, we give you this prayer card hoping that it will prompt you to try and find a rhythm of prayer through the month of February, and one that you might want to then take onwards. Let us know how you get on with it…if and how you find it helpful.

Download Prayer Card

(with thanks to Bridgetown Church for prayer card idea)