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Exploring Prayer

You don’t have to use special words to talk to God. You can talk to him about anything that matters to you. And he is always there.

Why pray?

What is the key to a good relationship? Most people would say that it is communication. That’s how we get to know one another, how we listen and learn, and how we share our needs. It’s how we tell others we care about them – and hear that they care for us too.

And that’s also what prayer is. It’s all about getting to know God: listening, learning, sharing myself and my needs with him. It’s about finding out that he cares about me and wants to help and guide me.  Prayer is not something super-holyHoly Set apart, sacred, especially implying coming from or consecrated to God. for a chosen few, but something for all of us. Many of us may find ourselves praying in a crisis, but God wants us to know that he is there the rest of the time as well.

Head and shoulders of young boy laughing with his hands over his mouth and nose

Talking to God

We don’t need special words to talk to God – we don’t even have to use words at all, just be silent, knowing that God already understands what we are thinking and feeling.

We don’t need a special place, as we can talk to God anywhere, although finding a quiet space, taking time to sit in a peaceful church, or joining others in a service can be helpful.

Anglo-Saxon Christians and prayer

The women and men who brought the ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. faithFaith 1. Belief and trust in someone or something. 2. Acceptance of particular religious teachings. to the North of England in the Anglo-Saxon period (changing this region for ever) prayed a lot. They needed to. And those who responded to the message of forgiveness and a new way of living, found that prayer was essential to them as well. Life was tough; things could change very quickly; there was war, disease, grief, and pain. They needed to know that they were not alone, and how to find a way through day by day. They also knew it was vital to be thankful for God’s love, the beauty of the world, and all the good things in life.

9th century carved stone grave marker showing figures praying at a cross.
9th century carved stone grave marker from LindisfarneLindisfarne Also known as Holy Island, a peninsula off the coast of north-east England (Northumbria), this area is cut off from the mainland by the tide twice a day. A monastic community was founded here by St Aidan, in emulation of Iona. From Lindisfarne, missionary activity was conducted in the kingdom of Northumbria. The Anglo-Saxon community produced saints, the most prominent being St Cuthbert in whose honour the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels were written. Priory, showing figures praying at a crossCross Instrument of torture and execution used in the Roman Empire. The means by which Christ was put to death and therefore the primary symbol of the Christian faith, representing the means by which he is believed to have won forgiveness for humankind. The Cross may be represented as Tau-shaped (like a capital T); with a shorter cross-bar or with a circle enclosing the upper intersection (Celtic). In medieval art a cross made of living branches signifies the Tree of Life. St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have discovered the True Cross (i.e. the Cross in Jerusalem on which Christ died) in 326.. © Historic England Archive

“When I pray, coincidences happen. And when I don’t, they don’t.”

William Temple

Some Anglo-Saxon prayers

Buttermere

‘Almighty Father, up in the sky,
who made and shaped the bright creationCreation Christian doctrine, based on the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis and amplified by the theologians, stated that God created 'heaven and earth' ex nihilo, out of nothing. When the physical world had been formed, Adam and Eve were created 'in the image of God', without sin and able to communicate directly with God. Their mandate was to rule as stewards over the natural world.,
and established all the plains of the earth,
I acknowledge and willingly trust you alone,
eternal God. You are the Lord of life,
the origin of the angels, the Ruler of earth,
and you made the depths of the oceans,
and know the multitude of the glorious stars.’

From an Anglo-Saxon version of the CreedCreed (Latin credo 'I believe') A brief summary of Christian belief. Three creeds are used in Western liturgy: the short Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, which originated at the Council of Constantinople in 381, and the longer Athanasian Creed which probably dates from c.500 and was used in the instruction of the laity. Of these the most important in the worship of the medieval church was the Nicene Creed, recited at the Eucharist on Sundays and feast days  Translated Paul Cavill

Lord JesusJesus (Greek form of Hebrew 'Joshua' meaning 'Yahweh [God] is salvation') Also given the title Christ, meaning 'anointed one' or Messiah. His life is recorded mainly in the Four Gospels although he is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus (c. 37-c.100) and the Roman historian Tacitus (c.110). Christ, the way, the truth, the life:
We seek eternal life that You may make us your friends.
You came from heavenHeaven The dwelling-place of God and the angels and eventually all those who will live with God for eternity. to pour life into the world;
We know you to be the bread of life,
The loving bond of human hearts.
One who comes to you will never suffer hunger,
One who believes in you will never thirst;
For you are the true bread…
Grant us peace in our soul and mind always.
For You are our true peace.

From an Anglo-Saxon book of prayers

Man holding bread in his hands that has been broken into two pieces
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Discover more ways of praying on the Explore website here