The Barefoot Evangelist

I’ve worked with a number of church communities and Christian groups over the years, and the one part of our faith practice that really seems to upset even the most seasoned person is prayer. When I ask people to pray within a group of their fellow believers, it can sometimes completely breaks them down. Why?

My mother told a story of how decades ago she was in a small Quebec town and they had just finished choir practice when word came that someone important to all of them had died. The priest told them to bow their heads for prayer and then nothing… the priest was busily flipping through pages of a prayer book instead of leading them in a prayer of loss and thanksgiving. My mother’s comments were why was it so hard? They had all known the person, so why couldn’t they pray about them without the words written in a book?

That story has stuck with me through the years as I have encouraged others to pray privately and in a group of people.

Prayer is not hard. It’s just a conversation, and we are not being graded on what we find important or whether our sentence structure uses proper grammar.

Prayer can be as simple as a list of things that come to mind, or as extensive as a small essay with examples and common references.

Prayer can be silent or loud, walking or sitting, bowing or holding our faces up to the sky.

Prayer can be giving thanks or making a request.

Prayer can be sad or angry or happy or filled with joy.

Prayer is simply taking our inner monologue and including God in our thoughts.

The more we pray, and the more we encourage others to pray, the easier it gets.