In his First Letter to the Thessalonians (5:17), Paul admonishes his Christian friends to pray constantly. This is the calling of every Christian. But in practical terms, even regular daily prayer seems nearly impossible to many ad difficult to most. So it is tempting for many Christian today to consider any full schedule of daily prayer more a luxury than a necessity. Those who would like to pray throughout the day are frustrated by an inability to "find the time" and may envy those whose life is ordered in such a way as to have prayer time "built in," such as those in religious communities (be they catholic, protestant, or orthodox).
On the other hand, some Christians are confronted by the great paradox of prayer. Prayer, which is a gift given to us by God, is perceived as work, a religious chore, even a burdensome duty. So they put it off or even try to avoid it, and then wonder why they have so much trouble praying.
This page is a response to this double frustration. For it is possible to experience a profound prayer life even in the busiest of schedules. It is, perhaps, the busyness of schedules that makes us see more clearly our need for prayer in our lives. For when we experience prayer as a joyous gift from God, we can begin to grasp for ourselves the life-giving power of daily communion with God. Only by venturing forth in prayer can we discover new vistas of life in the presence of God.
There is within each one of us the drive to pray. As John Calvin, the founder of our particular Christian tradition, said, "Genuine and earnest prayer proceeds first from a sense of our need, and next, from faith in the promises of God." For the Christian, then, prayer is a means of grace as well as a result of it. Prayer is not merely an expression of established faith; it is also the food that nourishes faith, giving it strength and energy. By the moving of the Holy Spirit, prayer brings us to new life in the fullness of Jesus Christ. Praying, then, s not a burn under which we labor, but the release of energy for joyful living.
This page offers, therefore, a few patterns of prayer designed for use by Christians in the latter part of the twentieth century. Yet it is a pattern that draws on the experience and tradition of the Christian Church in all centuries.
-from the Introduction to "Daily Prayer: The Worship of God", published by the PC(USA) Office of Worship, 1987
