Prayer

Prayer is however we communicate with God. Christians often use spoken words, yet silence, artwork, and glimpsing God in creation are some other ways we might pray. Different traditions emphasise spontaneous or pre-written prayers, and group or individual prayer. It is the wonder of faith that we can meet directly with God.

Further resources

Scripture
Prayer is often paired with scripture readings, famously in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6.5-15). Other famous passages include Numbers 6.22-7, Acts 4.23-31, Ephesians 1 and the book of Psalms. We encourage exploring the resources listed under scripture reading as ways to prompt prayer. Well-used Psalms include:

Psalms 4-6 – prayers of supplication (asking God to act)
Psalm 8 – God as Creator 
Psalms 12-4 – prayers of lament (bringing difficult situations to God, overlaps with supplication)
Psalm 20 – prayer of blessing
Psalm 23 – “the Lord is my Shepherd” prayer of adoration (praising God for who they are). This comes in the context of “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in the previous Psalm, spoken by Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 101-21) on the cross (Mark 15.34).
Psalm 42 – prayer of lament – “deep calls to deep”
Psalm 46 – prayer of adoration – “be still, and know that I am God”
Psalm 51 – prayer of repentance (acknowledging sin)
Psalm 77 – prayer of lament, which similar to other laments turns into praise – “you are the God who performs miracles”
Psalm 79 – prayer of lament – “how long, O Lord?”
Psalm 84 – prayer of adoration – “better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”
Psalm 104 – God as Creator
Psalm 119 – a Hebrew acrostic prayer, with each section beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This prayer praises God for his Law (Old Testament commandments)
Psalms 145-50 – prayers of praise (for what God has done, overlaps with adoration)

Pre-written
There are many collections of pre-written prayers, sometimes called liturgies, which can be used word for word or adapted. 

Sarah Bessey (ed.), A Rhythm of Prayer
Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have 
Douglas McKelvey, Every Day Holy
Cole Arthur Ridley, Black Liturgies
W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor, Prayers for the Pilgrimage
The Church of England’s Book of Common prayer, popularised in Common Worship 

Taize prayers provide short repeated prayers accompanied with music. Example albums include Laudamus Te (2017).

Some pre-written prayers are added to prayer cards, see for example by Lindisfarne or Faith in the North.

Spontaneous prayers by their nature are not meant to follow a specific formula! This is one of those opportunities where the more we practice, the more we find a way of prayer that feels most natural to us.

Icons are “holy images”, paintings that seek to show something of God through a famous story or Saint. Further resources are given under our Trinity section. 

All churches will pray as part of their regular services. The 24/7 Prayer Movement provides resources for both individual Christians and churches. BeSpace has a good collection of prayer resources for schools.

Digital
Lectio365 and Pray as You Go are popular mobile apps for prayer

Wider resources
Richard Foster’s book “Prayer” remains a good overview of the different types of prayer. In particular we note breath prayers, where Christians will use a short word or phrase such as “Love”, “God” or “Jesus”. The Jesus prayer is the most famous breath prayer, used in full or in part, as “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

Tyler Staton’s “Praying like monks, living like fools” explores how the Lord’s Prayer can shape our wider prayer life.

Martin Laird’s “Into the Silent Land” explores silent prayer.

Some Christians seek formal prayers of absolution, or prayers for the sick and dying, which we will cover in our section on the sacraments.

Christians may pray at set times of the day, for example first thing in the morning and just before sleep, or may pray more spontaneously throughout the day. For those interested in following historic rhythms of prayer, monastic Rules are a good place to start (see our section on Wider Spiritual Practices).