Prayer Routines and Rhythms

I have spent the summer experimenting with prayer.  I haven't experimented with forms of prayer, the way I might have in the past.  I haven't done any new types of praying.

But I have prayed more throughout the day.  Since I've spent the summer doing chaplaincy training, this development may not come as a surprise.

Of course, you might say, "Wait, didn't you just finish a divinity degree?  Weren't you a person of prayer before?  And aren't you a Synod Approved Minister?  Doesn't that mean that you pray more than a non-minister person?"

I do understand all the reasons why we should pray.  Many of us do.  And yet remembering to pray throughout the day can be hard.  I've always envied monks their the community who reinforces the expectation of prayers throughout the day.

We began our chaplain day with prayer.  We met at 8, went over who would be where each day, and then we prayed.  We offered up our own prayer requests, and we prayed the prayers left in the prayer box in the chapel.

I tried to stay in the prayer habit as I moved through the day.  When I went on self-care walks on the grounds, I tried to remember to pray for everyone in the hospital.  I spent much of the workday going back and forth to the ward that was assigned to me.  I tried to remember to pray on my way up to the ward. 

It probably will come as no surprise that when I remembered to pray, my time on the ward felt better.  That was in part because of me:  prayer calmed my anxiety about feeling like I was intruding.  Prayer helped me remember who I am and why I was there.  

I am sure that prayer also helped in other ways that I can't quantify.  I hope to carry this illumination with me throughout the months and years to come.  I hope to remember to pray as I move through each and every day.