Prayer       

Today I want to speak about something so simple a child can do it, and yet so deep that none of us will ever finish learning how to do it: prayer. Prayer is not and should never be a pious performance or a way of trying to impress God. Prayer is a relationship. It is the honest conversation of a loved child with a loving Father, one that is endearing, personal and spiritually beneficial.

When Jesus’ disciples watched Him pray, they saw something different. They had grown up with prayers in the synagogue and the Temple, with set words and rituals, but when Jesus prayed, they now sensed intimacy, trust, and peace. Such was the contrast in method that they said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” and so He did, but not a formal technique, but rather a pattern, beginning with two simple words: “Our Father.” That beginning changes everything. If God is our Father, then prayer is not knocking nervously on the door of a distant overseer, it’s about coming home to One who already knows us and loves us. Many of us find prayer difficult because we imagine that we must find the right words, the right feeling, even the right level of holiness before we dare to speak. But a good parent does not wait for perfect sentences from their child. They patiently listen to the stammer, the confusion, the half‑finished thought, all because they care for the sincerity of the child’s heart.

So where to begin? Well, prayer is first of all about approach. We come before Him just as we are: tired, distracted, perhaps even bored or angry. God can work with honesty; He sees through any pretence. If we are struggling in thought, we can simply say, “Lord, I don’t feel like praying, help me.” If we are anxious, we can just pour out every fear. If we are joyful, we can simply say, “Thank you.” The Psalms show us that every human emotion can be brought into prayer: praise, lament, doubt, even complaint. Absolutely nothing is off‑limits.

Secondly, prayer is about attention. We live in a noisy world. Our minds are filled with emails, notifications, and to‑do lists. Often when we pray, we find ourselves rehearsing our worries rather than resting in God, but prayer invites us to re‑focus. It is as though we lift our eyes from the ground to the horizon and remember that God is God and we are not. “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done.” When we pray those words, we are saying: “Lord, I want my life, my decisions and my reactions to be shaped by you and not just by the latest life pressure. This does not mean our needs are unimportant. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask quite boldly: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Nothing is too small to bring before God. The energy bill we worry about, the conversation we are dreading, the depressing weather, the hospital appointment—all of these and more can be laid before Him. We do not pray because we have everything under control; we pray precisely because we do not.

Thirdly, prayer is about alignment. Over time, as we pray, something happens in us. We may start by asking God to change our circumstances, but often He begins by changing our hearts. He softens our anger, widens our compassion, and slowly brings our will closer to His. We discover that prayer is not a way of getting God to do what we want, but a way of learning to want what God wants. We see this in Jesus Himself in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done.” That is probably the deepest prayer of trust one can find.

Many people secretly feel guilty about their prayer life. They compare themselves with others and conclude that they are failing. If that is you today, then please do remember that prayer is not a test you pass or fail. It is a journey. God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves. A short, sincere prayer whispered on the bus can delight His heart as much as an hour in a quiet chapel. Faithfulness is worth more than perfection.

So how might we grow in prayer? Perhaps as part of your Lenten journey? Let me offer three simple practices that were given to me.

First, set aside a small, regular time. It might be five minutes in the morning or last thing at night. Open your hands, become still, and simply say, “Lord, here I am.” That might be all that you need in the moment. If you are stuck for words then just use The Lord’s Prayer on its own, after all that is why it was given. Perhaps read a few verses of Scripture, then talk to God about whatever strikes you. Don’t aim for perfection; aim for consistency.

Second, pray through your day. As you move from task to task, offer short prayers: “Lord, help me in this meeting.” “Lord, give me patience with this person.” “Lord, bless this meal.” These arrow prayers weave God’s presence into ordinary life.

Third, pray with others. This one I found a personal challenge because I worry what others would think of my words. Some people, such as the clergy, seem to do it with such ease and so the pressure would make me stumble in both thought and delivery. The truth is that prayer was never meant to be a purely private activity. When we pray together—at home, in small groups, in church—we are reminded that we belong to one another as well as to God. Hearing others pray can also encourage us to have a go, and in doing so we should take heart that our own simple words may be exactly what someone else needs or wants to hear too.

Prayer should not feel like another Christian burden to carry, rather it is the place where our burdens can be laid down. It is where we discover that we are seen, known, and loved. However weak or strong your prayers feel today, the invitation is the same: “Come to me,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest.”

May God give us the grace not to just talk about prayer, but to actually do it and enjoy it; not over analyse it, but to practise it; and in doing so, grow deeper in love with the One who first loved us.

Amen.

Danny

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.