"Unconventional" Prayer

I wish I did prayer better most of the time, especially these days. With an infant at home and long days at the church it is more and more difficult to find time to be still, let alone to intentionally spend time in prayer. Like most people, I have a lot of things in life, and the fact that I'm a pastor doesn't necessarily mean that prayer is high up on that priority list. But I also know I need it. I'm not the same person when I'm not reflecting, taking the time necessary for God to work in and through me.

But one thing I've discovered in the last few months is a realm of "unconventional" prayer. I put that in quotation marks because I'm not sure it's actually all that unconventional. I think more often we assume prayer is either spoken petitions in a community or silent petitions on our own, but just because that's our predominant view of it does not mean that those are the best ways to pray. Often, I think they are not.

My unconventional praying has happened most often lately when I'm riding my bike or on a long run. That might seem convenient--I thought so at first--and so I was always trying to excuse myself for a workout and thinking, "Oh crap, I need to get back to work and then I need to find time to reflect." What I've discovered, though, is that exercise often offers a great cover for reflection. This doesn't happen all the time; I wouldn't say that when I'm racing it's a great time for prayer. It happens more often on the days where I ride long but not hard, or run far but not fast. But it also doesn't happen all the time.

The thing that seems most important is the intention. There are days I spend my whole ride looking at my bike computer and how fast I'm going, or worrying about what I have to do when I get home. Those aren't prayerful rides. But other days I set out with the intention of reflecting. That doesn't mean I'm not going to get a workout (I'm terrible at moseying), but I find on those days that I finish my workout more refreshed than tired. More importantly, when I come back to my office I do so with renewed perspective.

Not everybody rides a bike, and for some the focus required precludes reflection on much else. But others go hunting, or take a walk, or fish, or mow the lawn, or do the dishes, or fold laundry, or go on a long drive. The key to making any one of those normal, everyday activities into unconventional prayer is simply being intentional about it. It takes telling yourself, "This is time where I'm doing something--so it's time to sit with God and be open to spirit's work."


I think we get hung up on what we're supposed to say in prayer and it makes listening difficult, but the great thing about almost all these forms of active prayer is that we have something else to preoccupy that part of our brain that wants to speak. Instead of talking we get to listen; instead of feeling awkward in-between petitions we simply wait in our work until something new crosses our mind.

So, as we begin a Confirmation year where we are focusing especially on prayer, I'm thinking today is a perfect day for all of us to start being more intentional with our praying wherever we may be. If you have to say "Let's pray" as you begin that walk or start up the boat, then do it. Then, at the end, what better way to end your trip, your chore, or your usually mindless activity by saying "Amen."