"Will you continue in the apostle's teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? We will with God's help."
Prayer is such a fundamental element of our faith, yet is continues to elude and confuse us. For some the struggle is with the written formulaic prayers of the Book of Common Prayer; they are felt to be too restrictive. For others, it is extemporaneous prayer that brings fear rather than calm. Some question, or perhaps hope, whether there is a specific format, almost like a fill in the blank, that can be used so that God will hear our prayers.
But there is beauty in the poetic prayer of our BCP as well as freedom in the conversations and arguments that are shared with God. There can also be a longing for the silence of prayer that comes amidst contemplative forms. The variety can be important, as each different prayer form often suits different seasons or moments in our lives. Prayer should ultimately intersperse our lives and be a foundation for all of our actions.
As the season of Eastertide comes to a close the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion are being called to period of intentional prayer. For a nine day period between Ascension Day and Pentecost, 26 May - 3 June, we are called to pray that others might find Jesus.
It is an ancient tradition to pray for a nine day period prior to a major feast day; from this we get the word novena, signifying nine days of intercessory prayer. Archbishop Welby expresses his desire beautifully in this video https://youtu.be/4m9h3FoeXNA . He is asking that we pray intentionally for five people that they might find Jesus. This might be your grumpy neighbor, your lost uncle, or the cashier at the grocery store.
To facilitate you praying a novena during this period we will provide copies of Nine Days of Prayer: Conversations in the In-Between. These prayers and readings speak to the In-Between time between Ascension Day and Pentecost when the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit. You can also download your own copy here https://www.thykingdomcome.global by following the tab for Resources.
With God's help, I encourage you to join with the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, Saint John's and me in this period of prayer. This will be transformational.
Peace
Henry+
