Welcome to FaithfulRebel! I’m a 20-year-old who loves Jesus, and wants to follow his spiritual and social teachings, which I think are beautiful, challenging, liberating, inclusive, and Divine. I hope you find this soul-encouraging and thought-provoking 😊
Why and How I Pray as a Young Progressive Christian
I love prayer.
I’m not sure why or how it works, but I know from my own personal experience that it is powerful, and for me, necessary.
So …
Why do I pray?
Sometimes I need to vent if I’m overwhelmed; sometimes I need a source of peace, or motivation, or guidance, or compassion to help me through my day; sometimes I need to express gratitude for life; sometimes I need to complain about life; sometimes I need to admit my mistakes and shortcomings so I can move on; sometimes I need a reminder that there is something greater out there; sometimes I just need to sit in the quiet and know that I am known.
And I dare to believe that God lovingly listens to me, wants me to come into their presence with all of this.
I dare to believe that what Jesus taught about prayer was true.
That prayer is private communion between humans and the Divine (‘when you pray, go into your room and shut the door,’ Matthew 6:6)
That prayer should be uncomplicated and genuine (‘when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases,’ Matthew 6:7)
That we can vent about the injustice of the world and ask for it to change (‘your kingdom come,’ Matthew 6:10; ‘pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest,’ Matthew 9:38)
That we can ask for our physical, spiritual, and emotional needs to be met (‘give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts … lead us not into temptation, but delver us from evil,’ Matthew 6:11-13)
That we can offload our worries (‘do not be anxious … your heavenly Father knows what you need,’ Matthew 6:31-32; ‘come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,’ Matthew 11:28)
That being alone in nature is good place to feel close to God (‘he went up on the mountain by himself to pray,’ Matthew 14:23)
That we shouldn’t be scared to bring our bold, daring requests to God (‘ask…seek…knock,’ Matthew 7:7; ‘have faith and do not doubt … whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith,’ Matthew 21:22)
[NB although these verses have been used to accuse people of ‘not having enough faith,’ or for promoting a self-centred prosperity gospel, I read them as an encouragement to bring anything and everything to our Creator, and as a promise that we will always ‘receive’ God’s unconditional love, free of judgement, meaning we are free to be honest and audacious in prayer]
That prayer motivates us to take action (‘your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’ Matthew 6:10; ‘if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed … nothing will be impossible for you,’ Matthew 17:20)
That we can ask for God’s presence in the mundane and everyday (‘Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.”’ Matthew 26:26)
That we should express gratitude to God (‘when he had given thanks,’ Matthew 26:28)
That we can come to God in desperation when we’ve hit rock bottom (‘he fell on his face and prayed, saying … “let this cup pass from me,”’ Matthew 26:39; ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Matthew 27:46)
… and that we can do this as often as we need (‘for the second time … for the third time,’ Matthew 26:42;44)
That prayer can be a reminder that there is a Higher Power of Divine Love, and that we don’t bear the burden of being in charge of everything (‘our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,’ Matthew 6:9; ‘nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will,’ Matthew 26:39)
That prayer is unconditionally available to us (‘I am with you always, to the end of the age,’ Matthew 28:20)
Ultimately, that we don’t need elaborate rituals, or specific words to get God’s attention, because God’s attentive, gentle, loving, powerful presence is something available to us at all times, in all places, in all situations.
I really, really love what Jesus teaches.
And I dare to believe it.
All that being said …
How do I pray?
As someone who wants to follow the social and spiritual practices of Jesus, I try to follow his patterns and teachings, acknowledging that this will look different to Jesus’ exact practices when transposed onto my 21st century Western life.
Sometimes I go out into nature and talk to God on walks or runs, saying anything and everything that comes to mind.
Sometimes my prayers are very short and spontaneous: thanking God for a meal I’ve eaten, or clothes I’ve put on, or good times with friends, or a beautiful sky I’ve seen. Or asking God to help me have motivation for uni work, or to be kind and compassionate to people.
Sometimes my prayers are long and rambling, pouring out every (probably petty) problem or worry I have – often I turn to journaling to help me ground and offload any spiralling thoughts, addressing it to the God who I know is listening to me. I also like journalling any hopes, dreams, and more long-term requests: seeing it on paper reminds me that God also sees and knows me.
But most of all I like to have a cup of tea with God (or coffee or hot chocolate)! In the quiet of my room, I simply sit down, and spend the five-to-ten minutes it takes me to finish my drink to just enjoy God’s presence, the warmth of the mug grounding and centring me. I tell God anything on my heart, meditate on God’s beautiful love, or simply sit in the presence of my Creator and Friend who – for some bizarre and wonderful reason – wants to have a cup of tea with me.
And so I invite you, too, to go and make yourself a cup of tea, ‘go into your room and shut the door,’ and spend some time with your Creator-Friend.
God bless 😊
p.s., this is my first blog post, so thank you so much for reading!! I’m going to be posting every Friday at 7pm (GMT). Feel free to drop me an email at faithfulrebel@gmail.com with any questions, article topic requests, or just to chat! 😊