MaryKate, at first glance, the reader may think this is a book that simply focuses on methods … What dos the subtitle tell us about the content and approach of the book?
A Guidebook to Prayer: 24 Ways to Walk with God is the end result of two desires. The first desire was to approach prayer as a love relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We often orient our prayers toward one or even two persons in the Godhead, yet there are three. I believed that there was more to “know” and love about the fullness of God, if we approached prayer through the Trinity rather than through methods. So the book is structured in three sections: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Beginning in Genesis and ending in the Epistles, I presented various attributes of God, and then suggest a prayer experience which would help us relate to God through that attribute.
The second desire was to share the prayer stories of my students and others I’ve met in ministry settings. I’ve taught prayer for 20 years, and my students have inspired me with their honest, ordinary and extraordinary stories about their prayer experiences. I wanted others to hear their voices and be inspired to pray. The prayer experiences are tailored for individuals, prayer partners, or groups. By experiencing the array of God’s nature in prayer, I believed we could have a more vibrant love relationship with God.
Your book is arranged around the trinitarian nature of God ... How does that format help you better communicate how to talk and walk with God?
“Prayer is not an event but a life. It is not a petition but a love relationship with one God, expressed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Guidebook to Prayer, 17) Our human temptation is to decide which expression of God or which attributes of God are comfortable for us and neglect the others. Another temptation is to rely on an inadequate understanding of the nature of God so we “hide” in our prayers rather than risk the work and responsibility of knowing God’s fullness. It’s as if in a relationship with a spouse, child, or friend we choose to know and love only one part of the person. When we pick and choose, we miss depth and breadth, and wonder and challenge.
Please talk about the role of:
-God our Father
God is first known in Scripture as the Creator in Genesis. God made the world out of nothing and created life. We human beings are created in God’s image. Therefore, we experience God when we create and reflect in prayer. Or vice versa, when we reflect in prayer and then create. God is a God who creates. When we create, we express God’s nature and we experience God’s goodness, God’s imagination, and God’s sovereignty. It is a fragrant prayer to the Lord when we create.
- God our Savior
To be our Savior, Jesus relinquished in the Garden his will into the Father’s. Jesus was suffering and modeled for us an authentic discourse with God for another way. Yet, in the end Jesus trusted God and accepted his path, even death on a cross. When we face trials and we suffer, Jesus invites us into the Garden with him to wrestle, weep, and implore God for another way. The repetition of 3 times tells us we do this type of praying until we can eventually join Jesus in trusting ourselves to the will of the Father whatever the journey.
-God the Spirit
In Romans 8:26 we read that the Holy Spirit “helps us in our weakness” and “intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” The Holy Spirit is our passionate intercessor. The Holy Spirit reaches out to rescue us in the same way a life guard extends a pole to rescue someone drowning and in distress. As the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, we intercede for others fervently asking for God’s response to those in need. Because the Holy Spirit is interceding on our behalf to God, we have only to pray. It is neither our effort nor our responsibility to produce the outcome.
Describe the need for:
-Blessing Prayer
Other examples of prayers that reflect the Trinity are Blessing Prayer, Prayer in Play, and Discernment Prayer. God is revealed in the Old Testament as a God of loving-kindness. Loving-kindness suggests generosity, commitment, and love, and God called us to be “priests” (Is. 16:6). In other words we are to bless others and show loving-kindness as God did. Blessing prayers are prayers for God’s favor on persons and communities.
-Prayer in Play
Another form of blessing follows Jesus’ example of loving the little children and blessing them. John records how Jesus referred to those who follow him as his children. Prayer in Play reminds us of this comprehensive love that adopts us as the children of God. People who cannot love are unable to freely play, so when we play and reflect in prayer with Jesus we learn to trust God’s love and goodness.
-Discernment Prayer
With the Holy Spirit we can seek God’s wisdom and guidance for choices we make in our lives. We pray a Discernment Prayer. We remember we are utterly dependent on God’s loving-kindness and yet we are utterly free as God’s children. Some people believe we are responsible for making our own decisions. Others believe God directs every little step. Rather with Discernment Prayer we seek that balance between dependence and freedom. We can have a sense of direction that can be very specific or we can receive the wisdom to know that the choice is ours.
Can you share another important insight that moves us from a frustration with prayer to an authentic and enjoyable life of prayer?
It takes a lifetime to know God. God is beautiful and terrifying, a God of Holy Justice and a God of Perfect Love. We are finite. We see through a glass darkly. Therefore, exploring different ways in prayer to know God keeps our life in God alive and authentic. We never run out of ways to experience God’s love. And God yearns to experience our love. One of my students wrote about it this way:
“If God were a city, prayer would be ways into the city. Some would be freeways, others boulevards. There would be avenues, alleys, sidewalks, train tracks, bike paths, and even winding dirt trails. All of these obviously participate in ‘roadness,’ yet by merely looking, one might see very little likeness between a freeway and a hiking trail…Looking closely at prayer, I see God has provided many means for us to approach him.” (Julie L. Hooper)
MaryKate, please write a prayer we can pray in agreement with you about walking and talking with God ...
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
Three in One, mystery and majesty,
With gratitude we receive your love.
As we pray, teach us to love you more.
With humility we rest in your grace.
As we pray, help us become people of grace.
With faith we seek your help.
In prayer guide us to be people of hope and light.
We give you our doubts and fears,
dishonesties and despair.
Give us the courage and strength to be a people who pray.
And one day at your name every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth,
Amen.
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