The first prayer of my day is to thank God that I’m alive to hear the beautiful carillon of birdsong that tumbles through the dawn and eases me from downy slumber.
What a joy to hear this canticle of creation. It’s a suburban concerto that sets me up with gladness to be getting on with the day that lies unscripted ahead of me.
And so I go off to work in my school, where prayer is a central element of the community. It is part of the rhythm of the day, an opportunity to enter the spaciousness of the eternal.
In a world of ubiquitous technology, prayer offers a different way to connect with others – and ourselves.Credit:
My young students pray for many things; for a sick nonna or a pet having an operation, for their brother doing VCE or for the maths test later in the day. They pray for a lonely neighbour or a friend who is having a birthday; they pray for peace, to win a netball match, for those who have died and that 2022 will be a better year. They pray for Melburnians, Victorians and Australians, people they will never know but wish well.
They pray especially for children their age fleeing the war in Ukraine. Their prayers are heartfelt and beautiful in their utterance in this blessed breathing space.
Sometimes prayer is simply sorting things out, informally chatting with God, and does not necessarily have the gravitas it might on more liturgical occasions. Sometimes we pray with a light heart, gladdened by joys and surprises. Sometimes awe and wonder elicit a spontaneous outburst of gratitude. And there are those times when prayer is the most we can offer for those who are suffering.
We do know that during the pandemic people prayed more often, perhaps needing divine reassurance or the sense of support and structure provided by belonging to a worshipping community in uncertain times.
Half a century ago, we had more time for the reflective capacity in our lives. There was no internet and Google was still 25 years away. We have lost something in the ubiquity of technology, its white noise now wallpapering our world. It makes more demands of us as we check our status or likes or posts or tweets. Much as we gratefully connect at high speed across the globe, we also need to know when to disconnect.
Prayer is a single task in a multitasking world. Our prayer lives, whether private or public, remain a safe and sacred space for a meaningful spiritual encounter, wherever and whatever shape that takes. And we are well guided if we follow theologian Frederick Buechner’s advice: go where your best prayer takes you.
Ann Rennie is a Melbourne writer and teacher.
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