Keith McClellan - Prayer Therapy

Prayer Therapy

Keith McClellan, O.S.B.

Illustrated by R. W. Alley

Abbey Press

Foreword

Do you ever wish you were closer to God? Do you sometimes feel a twinge of guilt for neglecting prayer? Do you envy the people who seem to have it all together? Do you long for peace and stillness of heart?

Many people today think they cannot pray. They view praying as a special gift of church activists, aged folk, or saints. Because they are busy, they too readily dismiss the prayer possibilities that surround them. These individuals have not learned to appreciate their own God-given talent for praying.

If you are among these peopleor if you just need encouragement for your ongoing prayer journeytake heart! In the delightful pages of Prayer Therapy, Fr. Keith McClellan, a Benedictine monk, offers simple but age-old wisdom to inspire you with new confidence and conviction.

Real prayer is organicit grows out of your own life, personality, needs, and rhythms. Each day and every moment are filled with opportunities for prayer. If you seize these moments, you open yourself to the greatest enrichmentand most effective therapypossible.

Prayer isnt for specialists; prayer is for you. Let Prayer Therapy lift your heart to the One who sustains your life.

1.

Prayer begins in a restless heart. Listen to its stirring.

2.

Prayer is a yearning for ones true home. Follow its lead.

3.

Prayer is like a garden. Tend it and it will be fruitful.

4.

Dont worry about words or formulas. Prayer is a listening.

5.

Prayer has many methods. Do it your own way.

6.

Pray always, but schedule special times too. The spirit, like the body, needs formal exercise.

7.

Let your prayer be short. Love needs few words.

8.

Pray where you are. God is everywhere.

9.

If you need something, pray for it. God desires your good.

10.

If you want something, ask yourself, Do I want what God wants? God wants your true good.

11.

Remember: your work and struggles are not unholy. Pray and God will come to you just as you are.

12.

When your praying becomes dry and routine, keep at it. Parched earth welcomes the rain.

13.

Bring your anger to prayer. Hot metal can be molded.

14.

When God seems far away, keep praying. Light can be blinding.

15.

When you sin and continue to fail, pray anyway. God keep on loving you.

16.

Pray when youre worried. Prayer puts everything in perspective.

17.

If, for any reason, you cannot pray, relax. The desire to pray is already a prayer.

18.

When prayer invites you to take risks, have courage. God will uphold you.

19.

When you feel sad or sorry, weep. Tears are a prayer of the heart.

20.

If you dont like somebody, pray for them. Prayer reveals the hidden God.

21.

When you receive bad news, take heart. Praying uncovers the spark in the cinders.

22.

When sickness, age, pain, or worry steals your concentration, relax. God is an understanding friend.

23.

If you begin to feel advanced in the ways of prayer, think again. Gods life runs deeper than your feelings or experiences.

24.

If prayer makes you passive and indifferent, it isnt prayer. True prayer will bear fruit in care and service.

25.

Use quiet times for prayer. Silence draws you to the Infinite.

26.

Use noisy times for prayer. Sound is the clamor of creation seeking God.