15/05/2026
Prayer.
How do you do it? At the risk of sounding all mystical and that, prayer seems to be something that happens *to* us rather than something we actively do by special 'spiritual techniques'.
There is the view that prayer is asking for something, for help, for guidance, for other people. This is part of it, for sure. And it is as simple as thinking or saying these things to God.
But prayer is also about being still and silent, removing ourselves as much as possible from everything else...and waiting for God to speak into the space we make for Her/Him (either is fine!).
Our thoughts will seemingly attempt to jump in front of this space. I visualise a river, and as the random thoughts of my life and the world intrude, I pick them up, look at them and acknowledge them, assure them I will come back to them, and I place them in a boat on the river, and let them drift away. Patience and persistence will allow the mind to clear.
And what can you expect? My experiences have ranged from a deep sense of peace, of being 'seen', of insights into myself or perhaps a situation, feeling guided in various aspects of my life, and sometimes realisations that I've not behaved in the best way.
But always, when I have truly entered into times of stillness and silence before God, there is a sense of being held and cherished and loved. It is always a quality of time rather than a quantity, a hint of a different way of 'being'. It transforms, bit by bit, as slowly more of the truth of ourselves is revealed.
Patience, stillness, laying aside one's ego, silence. And when we open space for God, His/Her grace will replenish, renew and transform.
-Fr Ben
