11 episodes
Prayer: Where to start and how to keep going The Church of England
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- Religion & Spirituality
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4.9 • 7 Ratings
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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?
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.