A ‘beginner in prayer’
Hi there. I’m delighted to be part of the team that is pioneering the work of 24-7 prayer in NZ. Over the last 15 – 20 years, I’ve found the inspiration, stories, teaching, and resources created by 24-7 Prayer so helpful, both personally and for our church community. I love how God uses this movement to keep stirring our hearts to pray – even if we don’t feel very good at it.
I work alongside my husband Matt as a local Vineyard pastor, as well as working as a spiritual director, and a ministry supervisor in Auckland. I have the privileged role of journeying alongside people as they get to know God and respond to His transformative work in their lives. Prayer, while fundamental to our learning to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what He did, doesn’t necessarily come easy to many of us. It seems we’re in good company.
In Luke 11, we see Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. They asked this even though they’d been raised in a culture that embraced and practiced rhythms of prayer every day. Jesus didn’t berate or discourage them. He saw the longing they had to know God more, so he taught them a simple yet profound way to pray in the Lord’s prayer. He’s still doing that today – teaching those who are hungry for more of Him.
“We do not want to be beginners [at prayer] but let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything but beginners, all our life!”
I came across Thomas Merton’s quote about prayer several years ago and found it profoundly encouraging. I realised in my teens that my life lived at its best, is lived in the company of Jesus and prayer is one of the primary ways that helps me to live this out day by day. Although I’ve been learning about, practicing, and teaching about prayer for decades now, I still feel like a beginner in many ways.
In the early days of my prayer journey, I thought that prayer was done in particular ways and at particular times, and I frequently felt like I was getting it wrong more often than getting it right. I’ve experienced seasons when prayer came easily and God felt near, and others when I felt like prayer was as dry as toast and I was casting words into the air hoping they’d make their way to God’s ears. Since then, I’ve met many others who express similar feelings. It seems many of us struggle with prayer and suspect that others are much, much better at it than us. This can discourage us into giving up. Perhaps we’d all do well to take note of Merton’s encouragement to us. We are all – and will always be -beginners. How freeing!
If prayer is a journey, then it’s one that has captured my heart and imagination. Contrary to my early expectations, I’ve discovered that prayer is rich, varied, and can be done anywhere, at any time, and in many creative ways. I’ve been learning to pray as I’ve cooked dinner for my family, while changing nappies or driving teenagers to their next event. I’ve prayed when walking on the beach, amid conversation, or sitting alone in a quiet corner. Learning how to pray with silence, scripture, liturgy, art, music, or freeform, conversational prayer has added variety and depth to my practice of prayer. And I feel as though I’ve got a lot still to learn.
As I think about 24-7 Prayer in NZ, my heart is captivated by the idea of more and more of us being stirred, inspired, and equipped to follow in the footsteps of all who’ve gone before us as we continue to learn to pray. That as a result, prayer would fill our lives, homes, schools, workplaces, churches, communities, and country, and we would see more of God’s kingdom come among us.
As a fellow ‘beginner in prayer,’ I’m looking forward to walking in the company of many of you as we seek God together and continue to ask – “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Let’s see where our prayers take us!