Practicing the Way: The Prayer Course

Welcome to the Prayer Course, through Practicing the Way.

You may be interested in joining this course because you’re new to following Jesus and learning to pray for the very first time. Or you may be at a stage in your apprenticeship to Jesus where you desire to not just learn about God, but to experience God. Or you may just find prayer boring or tedious, but you have a growing sense there’s something you’ve yet to discover.

Whatever your motivation, we’re so happy you’re considering to go on this four-session journey into a deeper life with God.

In the hurry, distraction, and noise of the modern world, few things are more difficult, or more rewarding, than developing a life of prayer.

• September 29 – Session 1: Talking to God: As we learn the pragmatics of prayer, we’ll begin habituating and fine-tuning a daily prayer rhythm.
• October 6 – Session 2: Talking with God: In prayer, we bring our pain, hopes, joys, and fears to God in a personalized way.
• October 20 – Session 3: Listening to God: Prayer is not just when we talk but when we listen to hear his voice.
• October 27 – Session 4: Being with God: Learn about the type of prayer that goes beyond words to simple loving presence, or what the ancient Christians called “union” with God.

You can think of these four stages of prayer as layers by which we go deeper with God. When you are first learning to pray, there is a bit of a progression from one stage to the next. But the spiritual journey is not a linear progression, and you never mature beyond any dimension of prayer. This means we can revisit and grow within every layer many times.

As you give yourself to Jesus through this Practice, please remember: The ultimate aim is not to “pray more” or “pray better.” It’s what ancient Christians called union with God. As Julian of Norwich said long ago, “The whole reason why we pray is to be united into the vision and contemplation of him to whom we pray.” It’s to live each day more and more aware of and deeply connected to our Father; to be transformed into the likeness of his Son, Jesus; and to be filled with the fullness of his Spirit, to do what he made you to do in the world.

We’re so excited to journey with you through these four life changing sessions.

Questions?

Email Pastor Jon at jravichander@cdac.ca