How to Be a Person of Prayer | Spiritual Practices for Daily Life
What does it mean to be a person of prayer? How does a prayer practice differ from a gratitude practice? Does one need to believe in God to be a person of prayer? The questions are endless when it comes to spiritual practices.
The theologian and philosopher St. Bonaventure wrote,
If you would suffer patiently the adversities and miseries of this life, be a person of prayer. If you would gain power and strength to overcome the temptations of the enemy, be a person of prayer. If you would put to death the inordinate affections and lusts of your will, be a person of prayer. If you would live joyfully, and with sweetness walk in the path of penitence and sorrow, be a person of prayer. If you would drive out the troublesome gnats of vain thoughts and cares from your soul, be a person of prayer. If you would sustain your soul with the richness of devotion and keep it ever full of good thoughts and desires, be a person of prayer. If you would strengthen and confirm your heart in the pilgrimage with God, be a person of prayer. Finally, if you would root out from your soul all vices, and in their place plant the virtues, be a person of prayer.
Learning to Pray
In Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone, James Martin outlines 10 Reasons People Don’t Pray. Interestingly, “they’ve never been encouraged to think about what they already do as prayer” is number five on the list.
“A few years ago,” wrote Martin, “a man with no formal religious background told me that he never prayed before. But when we talked about his life, he described a profound experience when he suddenly felt connected to something larger than himself with a deep sense of encouragement about his path in life.”
Do you have any practices that could be categorized as prayer? Have you ever felt connected to something larger than yourself?
According to the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
Similarly, the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky explained,
Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education.
Connecting to Something Larger
In my interview with Dilip Jeste (author of Wiser), he explained,
There is a connection between wisdom and being connected to something larger. The concept of spirituality is not the same as religiosity but refers to a belief in something more significant than the individual and the society. Spirituality can include religion, but it can mean and embrace much, much more.
Philosophers and spiritual thinkers throughout history have stressed the importance of daily practices. But as the theologian Meister Eckhart put it, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Image: St. Francis Praying by El Greco (1595)
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