My Prayer Rhythm

Several months ago, I read a passage in The Remarkable Ordinary that has changed the way I pray. 

Frederick Buechner writes, "I do not know much about prayer, that's for sure, but I pray a lot because I move around the world, so I can't help but do that. The kind of prayer I do at night, if I'm not so sleepy that I forget to do it, is thinking about how in the evening, if you're like me, almost everybody in the world turns on the news to listen to what's going on in the world that day. And it seems to me as I listen to it, the same kinds of things are always going on - there's always a war going on somewhere and by the same token there's always a search for peace. And there's aways a problem of hunger and homelessness. It seems to me that one could do worse as a form for prayer at night, when you turn out the light and wait for sleep to wash over you like a tide, to think back over the news of your day, that particular day that's coming to an end." 

For me, prayer has been complicated at best and difficult at worst. Complicated, because I've never seen the person I'm praying to, and difficult because how can I translate my thoughts into words when half the time I do not even know what I'm thinking?

This practice of praying through the "news" of my day has been such a gift. It gives me a sturdy structure to build my prayers on without them becoming a meaningless repetition. I simply tell God about the wars I fought that day, the places I felt peace, the things I'm hungering for, and all the ways I feel at home or am still searching for home. Most nights, I only get through the war and peace parts before falling asleep. Talking to God is such a nice way to end the day.

Maybe you've struggled with prayer as well. Maybe this could help.