May I speak in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
One of the phrases often used when talking about our prayer live outside of church is having a quiet time with God. A time set aside to concentrate on our relationship with him. In our gospel reading this morning we find Jesus going of on his own to pray.
Now, I know Jesus is supposed to be an example for us to follow, but I have some problems with this. Firstly he gets up early, when it is still dark, well at the moment that would mean having to be up by half four in the morning. I struggle with getting up at 7 to get to work on time so I would really struggle getting up that early and he doesn’t even mention coffee! I don’t know about you but I can’t function without a coffee in the morning!
He then leaves the house and goes of to a quiet place to pray. Our gospel story takes place in Capernaum. This was clearly a much nicer place than inner city Coventry.
I really don’t think heading out from my flat in the dark and early hours to find somewhere to sit and pray is the best plan.
However, I can see what Jesus is trying to achieve. In going out to find a quiet place he is removing himself from any distractions. Finding time without distraction in the modern world can be really hard. Most of us will have people we live with, who while we may love them dearly, can also be annoying and disrupt us when we are trying to find that quiet time.
We also have these things called mobile phones. They can be a great resource for prayer, I use the church of England daily prayer app, however that does also mean that I have my phone in my hand when praying and it can be so easy to get distracted, to check that email that’s just come in in case its something important,
it never is but the temptation is still there. The other problem I find is that I think I’ll just check the news to see what needs praying for and half an hour later I have spent half an hour looking at stuff on my phone and no time with God. The intention may be good, but without a good dose of self discipline the result is not always so good.
Yet, I know that if I can mange to find the time to pray, to have that quiet time with God, I will feel better and stronger, and cope better with the days challenges.
It’s like physical exercise will build a stronger body, spiritual exercise will build a stronger relationship with God and provide us with inner strength. It allows us to build an internal strength and resilience to avoid the temptations that come our way and instead to keep us following the path of God.
Whilst, in this instance, we may not follow exactly what Jesus did when he prayed, after-all we are are living in a very different time and place. His example can still give us some pointers about how to pray and grow our relationship with God.
Jesus went out to pray early in the morning, but not everyone is a morning person.I don’t think the point is at what time do you pray. The important thing is to make sure that we find time. For some of you, early morning when you get up might work best, for others it may be the evening before we go to bed,
or you might find you have time when you finish work, before you step back into the pressure of family life. The time you pray doesn’t have to be the same time each day,
it can be worked around work and other commitments. The important thing is to make sure that you have that time set aside. Put in your diary even, schedule your meeting with God into your day and commit to it like you would any other meeting.
Jesus went out to pray because he wanted peace and quiet. I suspect where ever they were staying in Capernaum was probably very full and busy with people all around and little private space available. The thing is it doesn’t matter where you pray, as long as you do pray. I live in a small flat, we have a very small spare room.
I keep a candle and a cross on the table next to the bed in that room, and that is my prayer space. It’s not a lot but I can shut the door, light my candle and sit on the bed, and that is my time to concentrate on God.
Prayer doesn’t have to involve a space where we sit still, for some people sitting still can be hard and they may find they pray better moving. Look for a quiet place to walk, maybe a local park or the towpath along the canal.Have a walk and a chat with God.
I have a bookshelf full of books on prayer, and I have spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect way to pray, the way that will instantly lead to a wonderful revelation of God’s purpose for my life. What I have learnt over the years is that no such thing exists. There is no one absolute best way to pray. God created us all as wonderfully different people, and because we so wonderfully different, what helps one person pray, may not work for someone else. At different times in life we may find we respond better to different ways of praying. The really important bit isn’t how we pray, it’s to make sure that we do pray. In prayer we can find that quiet centre within ourselves that allows us to be fully open to God. We can build that relationship with God, knowing his love for us, sensing his guidance for us. The more we pray, the stronger our relationship with God becomes and from that relationship we can draw on his strength to help us deal with the problems and troubles of our lives day by day.
When the disciples come to find Jesus, he has been strengthened by his prayer time and is ready then to go and continue his work, carrying the good news to more villages, preaching and driving out demons.
So, we too, through a regular and committed prayer life can be strengthened to go out and do the work that God is calling each of us to do.
Audio link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hag606dm9plmzzyupms0w/Foleshill-Road-5.mp3?rlkey=03evom28n40wijdxgg15thg0q&st=vaj23fhf&dl=0
Preached at the parish of St Paul, Foleshill, Coventry
