Gayle Fiser lights the altar candles in the Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church prayer room. Photo by Chris Dean

Praying all ways

by Jane Dennis

Eyes closed, head bowed, reverent posture, quiet surroundings. With this, the soul is prepared to be open to God and receive the blessings and comfort of prayer. Such might be described as the traditional way to pray. It is a good way to pray. But is it the only way?

Lent — the 40-day period before Easter that begins on Ash Wednesday — is a prime time to consider different ways to pray. Many United Methodist Christians relish the joys of praying and praising God while enjoying the great outdoors, or while immersed in music or the arts, or reading the newspaper or knitting. To pray without regard to the day, time or setting holds true to the admonition to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

“When you’re outdoors looking at the beauty of the sky and the world around you, that’s a prayer right there!” said the Rev. Marty CashBurless, chaplain at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. “A thunderstorm knocks you back and says, ‘There’s God!’ Those are prayer moments not to be missed.”

The Rev. Marty CashBurless, chaplain at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, finds holy inspiration in knitting prayer shawls. Photo by Kenneth Colwell / Mount Union College

Drinking in the beauty of creation inspires prayer. Lent may be a good time to develop the habit of taking regular “spiritual walks,” said CashBurless. They offer both healthy exercise and time to pray and to consider, “What are my obligations today? How can I be more fully in the presence of God throughout the day?”

The effervescent college chaplain also finds holy inspiration in knitting prayer shawls for friends who are ill or facing other difficulties. “The basic knitting pattern is knit 3, purl 3, so I think of the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and I pray, ‘Watch over the person I’m knitting this shawl for. É Lord, please keep her healthy and please help me to finish this shawl so she might feel the presence of the prayers in my knitting this for her.’”

Prayers can be music, and music can be a prayer, whether a familiar hymn or a contemporary chorus. Author and musician the Rev. Don Saliers, a professor at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, said hearing choirs and other voices sing is the easiest way to put a soaring prayer in his heart.

“But some of the more profound experiences I’ve had are wordless prayer, with someone in either a situation of great stress or suffering, like at a hospital, or where there’s great joy — for example, the birth of a child or grandchild,” Saliers said. “At these times, praying is done by touching the other’s face or simply holding hands in silence. ... I find myself ‘holding them in the light,’ as the Quakers say.”

The Rev. Charles Wiggins, a United Methodist general evangelist and missionary who leads churches and a school in Bunda, Tanzania, along with his wife, Karen, says that prayer has pulled them through many battles.

“Somebody’s Praying Me Through,” written by Darrell R. Brown and Ty Lacy, is a favorite song that rings true for the Rev. Charles Wiggins, a United Methodist general evangelist and missionary who leads churches and a school in Bunda, Tanzania, along with his wife, Karen. Prayer has pulled them through battles with malaria, language barriers and general suspicion as strangers in the land.

On one occasion, a bicyclist pulled in front of Wiggins’ slow-moving car but jumped away just in time. When Wiggins stepped from the car to check on the man, he was suddenly surrounded by a large, angry crowd of villagers. “I remember saying aloud, in English, ‘Lord, just think of me as Daniel, and these good folks as lions.’” His prayer was answered; the crowd dispersed when the bicyclist was found unharmed. Karen Wiggins remained in the car, praying the whole time.

“I had no fear, only calm in the midst of that crowd,” Charles Wiggins said.

“While it’s true that we can put any money sent our way to good use for God’s purposes, what we ask for and covet is prayers,” Wiggins said. “Without them, there is no mission here.”

Chuch member Jan Owen makes prayer beads with Gayle Fiser (hands) in the Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church prayer room. Photo by Chris Dean

At Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church  in downtown Little Rock, Ark., a prayer chapel has been designed to foster interactive prayer. The church has an innovative community arts program, so it comes as no surprise that the chapel is filled with prayer aids that appeal to the creative senses. Seating is comfortable chairs and nontraditionally arranged pews. The sounds of a fountain and meditative music provide a backdrop. There are books on prayer and faith, as well as art supplies for those who wish to draw while praying. In several places, candles can be lit and intercessory prayer requests can be left. Familiar prayers and global prayers are posted on the walls to give guidance “for those who are just developing a prayer life or who are taking early steps on their Christian walk,” said the Rev. Betsy Singleton, senior pastor.

“We felt people needed a place to get in touch with solitude and prayer and meditation,” she added. “It’s a sacred place.”

A healthy spiritual life needs the rhythm and contrast of praying alone and praying together, Saliers said. “It’s good to move from community prayer to one’s own attentiveness to what is present, whether it’s joy, pain or sorrow. Sometimes the most powerful prayers come when you have to face your fears.”

But the key to all prayer, in Saliers’ estimation, “is paying attention to what’s really there before you and holding that up to God.”

—Jane Dennis, Little Rock, Ark., editor of the Arkansas United Methodist

Prayer is ...

“... first. Prayer should be the first thing we do in any of our life choices or life decisions — and often it’s the last. We need to talk to God from the beginning, and seek God’s guidance for the decisions we face and opportunities in our life.”

—Larry R. Hygh Jr., director of communications, California-Pacific Conference, Pasadena, Calif.

“... a comforter, a guide, and it provides peace when the storms of life appear to consume you and hopelessness is within view.”

—The Rev. RoseMary Hayes Williams, pastor, Mount Zion United Methodist Church, Pass Christian, Miss. (an area hard hit by Hurricane Katrina)

“... our grateful response to God’s abundant love as we love and serve God and neighbor.”

—The Rev. Rebekah Miles, associate professor of ethics, Perkins School of Theology, Dallas

“... an opportunity for focus; to look for and listen for direction, then to take that direction and energy and do something positive.”

—Walter M. Kimbrough, president, Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark.