Category: Prayer Matters

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does it matter that I prepare ahead of time to lead Prayers of the People?

Yes, I believe it does. It matters that the person who leads the prayers has an understanding of the purpose of the prayers, their place in the liturgy and the role of the Intercessor.

In a previous article of Prayer Matters, I wrote that Intercession is a relationship in which we share our concerns with each other and with God. It is appropriate that we should hold before God those people and situations in need of prayer. The Intercessory prayers should focus on God’s reconciling, transforming, and healing love. The Prayers of the People are the prayers offered as a Christian community. The worshipping community’s prayers are an expression of our belief that people, and the circumstances in the world that affect the human family, can be touched and changed through Jesus Christ and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The prayers are given shape both by our awareness of human need and the Gospel vision of God’s Kingdom.

Continue reading “Intercession Preparation”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does it matter that I pray for others?

Yes. I believe that it does. It matters not only in our Anglican worship services where we traditionally include “Intercessions” or “Prayers of the People”, but also in our daily lives. Several years ago, a friend asked me: “Why do we pray every week for peace in the Middle East when history shows us that people have been fighting each other for thousands of years and the prayers for peace over the centuries have not made any difference?” How you would answer that question? The question caused me to think deeply about why we pray intercessory prayers for others.
Continue reading “Intercessions”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does it matter that I prepare ahead of time to read a Scripture Lesson

Yes. I believe that it does.

The scriptures are given a prominent role in Anglican liturgy. The church’s worship services are full of scriptural phrases and sentences. This prominence reflects the Anglican church’s emphasis through the centuries on the primacy of the scriptures. “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching , for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 – NRSV). If we are to respect this prominent role, we should understand the role of the Reader, or “Lector”.
Continue reading “Reader Preparation”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does it Matter That We Pray for Healing?

It is natural and appropriates that we should want a person healed of whatever malady that afflicts them, and so we pray that they be cured. But what about the situation in which the medical prognosis is that of an incurable disease or affliction? Should we still pray for healing? Yes, I believe we should.
Continue reading “Healing”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does it matter if I am not “Still” when I pray?

I don’t think so.

When we think of prayer, most often we think of being still – standing, kneeling or sitting – while connecting with God. After all, doesn’t Scripture say: “Be still and know that I am God”. (Psalm 46:10, [NRSV])? However, being still is not the only way we can pray. Some people do their best, and are most comfortable, praying while they are moving.
Continue reading “Prayer Walking”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

If we restrict our understanding and the practice of prayer as being an activity of the head it can be likened to a bird trying to fly with one wing. We are missing the richness of the use of the senses that God has given us. We learn about the physical world around us by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, and hearing. So, too, we can use our senses to learn about and experience God. To “sense” something is to understand and experience life, gaining knowledge and achieving our potential. Continue reading “Sensible Prayer”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

We are one in body mind and spirit, and prayer is not confined to our minds and hearts. It is expressed by our bodies as well. When our bodies are engaged in prayer, we are praying with our whole person. Using our entire being in prayer helps us to pray with greater attentiveness. The condition, position, and actions of our body play an important part in our spiritual life.

Continue reading “Involving the Body in Prayer”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Way of Life

People sometimes ask: “How can I lead a Christian life when faced with the busy demands, temptations and choices involved in living in today’s world?” Christian writers throughout the years have suggested that we establish and follow a Rule of Life. I admit that this phrase puts me off a bit, because the word, Rule, suggests that everybody must adhere to a particular regimen. Referring to a Way of Life is more useful to me. The first Christians were known as followers of “The Way” (Acts 9:2). What might a Christian Way of Life look like? Continue reading “A Way of Life”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

Does Lent Matter?

Yes. I think it does. Lent, is a valuable time for Christians. The word “Lent” comes from a variety of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic words meaning “spring”, a time budding with new life and hope. For Christians, Lent is not a celebration of nature; rather, it is a process of prayer and spiritual renewal looking to a time budding with new spiritual life and hope. The Lenten season is an opportunity to cultivate the interior life through spiritual exercises and practices. Rather than being seen as a forty day endurance test, or a bleak and restricted time, Lent is a quality season. It is a time of rediscovery, a valuable chance to open ourselves more deeply to the beauty and power of the dying and rising to new life in Jesus. It is a time to ponder the reality of the death and resurrection and to allow it to soak into our deepest parts. Lent is the time for new life and hope. In the Lenten season, self-examination is crucial. An individual’s response to the call for purposeful reflection on one’s need for God is an important factor in choosing how one will observe Lent. Through the centuries, Lent became characterized by practices which typify the meaning of this season.
Continue reading “Does Lent Matter?”

Prayer Matters

Paul Dumbrille

I think having questions about prayer is not only natural, but asking and pondering questions is important in developing our relationship with God and strengthening out prayer life. This article poses some, but certainly not all, questions that, I think, many people have.
Continue reading “Does it matter that we have questions about prayer?”