By Susan Johnson
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE bookmarks says, “Prayer Changes Things”. It’s a good reminder for me that I need to spend more quiet time talking to God, despite the days and weeks that can get so busy.
We are now past Christmas, which is definitely a hectic time for many of us! We are hopefully entering into a quieter time when we can refocus on our prayer lives.
When I first knew I’d be writing this article, a book that I read almost 12 years ago came to mind: Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers by Gary Neal Hansen. Prayer changes things, but perhaps from time to time we need to change the way we pray, to try out new ways. Kneeling with Giants gives us ten teachers and the suggestion to practice each of these approaches to prayer for two weeks, fifteen minutes a day, in order to find which appeals to us (or doesn’t!). The Introduction tells us that “The goal is to find a way to deepen your journey with God for the next season of your life.” (Ah, a reminder that life is not an unchanging path, we need flexibility in our prayer habits, too!)
These teachers are from many eras of the Christian journey, covering many centuries and many traditions. They include Benedict of Nursia, father of Western monasticism; Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation; Ignatius of Loyola, well known for his Spiritual Exercises; the Puritans and their method of praying through writing; Andrew Murray, committed to intercession. These teachers may have many ways to pray, but they all agree that “nothing is more foundational for our life in Christ.”
At the end of the book, “Putting Prayer into Practice” is a helpful section of short how-to paragraphs to get one started on trying these new ways to pray.
I’m adding a reread of Kneeling with Giants to my to-do list: it’s time for prayer to change things!
Susan Johnson is an AFP Huron executive member.