Author - Dan Finn
Article -
When Paraklesis asked me to draft an article about prayer, if I am totally honest, I panicked. I thought to myself, “what have I got to say about prayer? I struggle most of the time, and what is more people will be shocked when they find out that I lead a House of Prayer in the Northwest of England!” Well, there you are, the truth is out of the bag! However, if we are honest, I think most of us would say that we struggle, at least sometimes, with prayer. In fact, I do not think I have ever met anyone who has shouted from the roof tops about the constant joys of their prayer life.
The reality is, we are all on a journey with prayer and that is because we are all on a journey of faith. Prayer is ultimately about a relationship. It is the tool that God has given us to help us in our relationship with Him, and at times it can feel like the easiest and most joyful thing, and then at other points it is the hardest and least interesting thing! But surely that can be said of all relationships?
At times, my relationship with my wife, Susie, can feel like the easiest and most wonderful of things. We are connecting deeply, we understand one another, we mutually serve each other, and all is flowing great. And then at other times, often during the stresses of life, we argue, we misunderstand each other, everything feels like hard work and the idea of spending any time together is not very appealing! Yet in those times of struggle in our relationships, the answer is never to stop and abandon the relationship altogether. Granted, you might need to give one another a bit of space once in a while, but you always must work at relationships; seek first to understand before you are understood, and offer grace to one another to enable the relationship to flourish. So, if that is the case with relationships, then it is probably the case with prayer too.
What helps when it comes to prayer, then? I was a little bit hasty when I started drafting this article, because to be honest I have gone on a bit of a journey with prayer over the past few years. Though it is true that I do genuinely struggle with prayer, it is also true that I have come to experience some deep times of growth in my prayer life and learnt some things along the way that have helped me in my journey of faith.
The first thing I want to say is, ‘just start’.
If you are sat reading this and thinking, ‘do you know what, my prayer life is pretty much non-existent’, then I want to say to you, ‘just start.’ These two words helped me enormously many years ago when I had no rhythm of prayer and was feeling distant in my faith. You see, it does not matter how you pray or what you pray. God is far more interested in being with you through prayer than what it looks like, but for that to happen you must ‘start’. For me this meant making prayer more of a priority and starting to talk honestly to God about what was going on in my life. Sharing with Him as I would with a close friend. If any of this is ringing true for you, then can I encourage you to, ‘just start.’ Put aside 5 minutes to start today. God will meet with you in the way that is best as you simply open yourself to him through simple prayer and conversation. ...
To read the rest of this article, please register for your free membership here.
Reprinted with the kind permission of Paraklesis. Originally published 13/12/2022 on
https://www.paraklesis.org.uk
Dan Finn helps to lead Turret House of Prayer in Clitheroe, Lancashire. Working in partnership with local churches and 24/7 Prayer, the team at Turret House exist to help grow prayer, justice, and mission across the region and beyond. For more info about Turret House see the Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/turrethouseofprayeror to contact Dan :
dan.finn@lancasterfoundation.co.uk