Prayer: Where to start and how to keep going

The Church of England

Join Archbishop Stephen Cottrell as he answers 10 questions on how to pray, beginning at "What is prayer and how do I start?" and finishing with "Now I’ve started praying, how do I keep going?" "It still feels a little presumptuous to write on this subject. I don’t claim any great expertise. But I do hope that a muddled beginner like me might actually be the best sort of person to answer these questions, since there is little danger that I will ever get very far ahead of those I’m trying to lead." This podcast is adapted from the book "Prayer: Where to start and how to keep going" by Stephen Cottrell, available from Church House Publishing. read less

Religion & SpiritualityReligion & Spirituality

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Question 10: Now I’ve started praying, how do I keep going?

Question 10: Now I’ve started praying, how do I keep going?

When we pray, we are not putting money in the heavenly slot machine to get what we want or to make a transaction with God. Prayer isn’t just asking for things.

Episodes

Question 10: Now I’ve started praying, how do I keep going?

Question 10: Now I’ve started praying, how do I keep going?

When we pray, we are not putting money in the heavenly slot machine to get what we want or to make a transaction with God. Prayer isn’t just asking for things.

Question 9: How do I go deeper in prayer?

Question 9: How do I go deeper in prayer?

Reading the Bible each day is a basic part of the Christian diet. Other spiritual books, apps and podcasts can also be very helpful. I’ve tried to signpost just a few resources here that might help you take the next step in your prayer journey.

Question 8: How do I pray when prayer seems impossible?

Question 8: How do I pray when prayer seems impossible?

Throughout Christian history, when people sought to deepen their relationship with God they went into the desert. They pursued isolation. This way of living the Christian vocation was called the solitary life.

Question 7: How did Jesus teach us to pray?

Question 7: How did Jesus teach us to pray?

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he gave them a simple formula. He said, “When you pray, this is what you say” (Luke 11.2).He then told them that prayer that we know as the Lord’s Prayer.

Question 6: Do I need words to pray?

Question 6: Do I need words to pray?

Like so many things in life, so with prayer, going deeper often means less, not more. Here are some ways of simplifying and purifying your prayer each day.

Question 5: How do I pray with my family?

Question 5: How do I pray with my family?

The question I’m going to explore here isn’t, of course, relevant to everyone – though it will be a very important one for some. And many of the principles below can – and, perhaps, should – apply to how we pray as adults, too.

Question 4: How do I build prayer into everyday life?

Question 4: How do I build prayer into everyday life?

Most of us have routines that shape the day. One of the ways of developing a life of prayer is to weave times of prayer into these existing rhythms and routines. If we attend to some simple spiritual disciplines and rhythms to shape our day, we are also more likely to maintain good mental health.

Question 3: How should I pray?

Question 3: How should I pray?

When you were at school you were probably taught to put your hands together when you prayed. But in one of his many books about prayer, Henri Nouwen says that when we pray “we are asked to open up our tightly clenched fists”.

Question 2: Where and when should I pray?

Question 2: Where and when should I pray?

Some people say prayer is like eating. We don’t eat all the time, but we need regular meals to resource us for everything else that happens during the day. Think of those times that you set aside for prayer as your chance to sit down and eat with God and receive what you need for the rest of the day.

Question 1: What is prayer and how do I start?

Question 1: What is prayer and how do I start?

Your wanting to pray is the beginning of a relationship with God that can grow and grow. And it can start anywhere.Don’t worry if you find it difficult. It doesn’t depend on you nearly as much as you think.

There is no right way of praying. There are just the ways that are right for you. But there is also the great heritage of praying that we can learn from and explore.My prayer for is to simply get you started and then help you keep going in the dogged, delightful, painful and puzzling business of daily prayer; of weaving prayer into daily life; of living life with God; to make it seem possible; and to be realistic about its joys and challenges.This podcast can help you build a prayer life at home: one that can sustain you during times of isolation and beyond.