Prayer is responding to God, by thought and deed, with or without words. (The Book of Common Prayer, page 856). We like to think of it as a conversation with God, where we open our hearts and minds to Him. By opening ourselves to His will, we can "hear" or discern His will.
The principal kinds of prayer are
Adoration: enjoying God's presence
Praise: rejoicing
Thanksgiving
Penitence: confessing and repenting
Oblation: offering ourselves, lives, and labors to God's purposes
Intercession: remembering the needs of others
Petition: asking for help with our own needs
The Book of Common Prayer, page 856
Everything we do in God's name is a form of prayer. When we begin any undertaking by letting God know we do it for His honor it adds depth to our experience as well as adding responsibility to perform the action in a way that will be pleasing to Him. Prayer brings intention and focus to our actions, be they as mundane as making the bed or as exalted as Celebrating the Holy Eucharist.
Meditation is thinking about the things of God and what they mean for our lives. It includes all forms of prayer and ranges from wordless adoration to concentrated everyday thinking based on the light of God's love and will. Meditation is our chance to listen to God.
Meditation also includes Lectio Divina, reading a passage from the Bible several times and asking what God is saying to us through it. This way, we seek to learn God's plan for us.
Another form of meditation is to focus on a Bible passage or life event and journal it based on what we perceive as God's intention. Noted Christian apologists (defenders and explainers of the faith) and Anglicans C.S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers are examples of writers who published their meditations.
Click below to return to:
Frequently Asked Questions
Prayers and Devotions
Main Menu