When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, they spoke from their need and desire to communicate with God. They acknowledged their need for help. They also admitted implicitly that they did not understand the “how to” of prayer.

Since Jesus was the self-revelation of God and was missioned by the Father to invite people to be in relationship with God, he responded immediately to their request. It is important to note that Jesus did not tell the disciples about prayer.

He did not intellectualize the issue. Rather he modelled prayer for them. He understood people learn by doing. So Jesus said, “This is how you should pray” and taught them the Our Father.

The contemporary culture

The contemporary pastoral experience of the Church is that the same issue – Teach me to pray - has resurfaced 2000 years later. Many people are now searching for meaning in their lives. They are uncomfortable with the lack of meaning in their lives.

Spirituality is not a reality for too many of them. They are not sure of what to do or where to go to have their spiritual needs met. However, they know they are searching. 

In traditional Catholic culture, people were taught “how to” pray from childhood in a family setting. Their prayer experience in family was slowly reinforced by family participation in formal liturgical worship. Unfortunately, that pattern has been secularized to a serious degree in modern culture.

The result is that too many people have little or no experience of prayer. It is quite common that they do not know the familiar prayers of the Church. They lack the “how to” knowledge and skills regarding prayer.

It appears that many searching people are not ready for formal liturgy. They lack an appreciation of and a comfort with almost all forms of vocal prayer. Yet the intrinsic need of all people to be in relationship with God continues to call out for recognition and attention.

There is no one way to pray. The rich tradition of prayer forms in the history of the Church attests to that truth. However, it is clear that the spiritual tradition of the Church on prayer is an undiscovered resource for so many people. 

What to do?

The Church must find ways to re-create a climate for prayer. It must develop creative ways for people to discover prayer. Or it must present its tradition on prayer more attractively to fulfill its mission and to meet the needs of its people who are searching for God. It must facilitate a process through which people gradually develop a comfort with prayer.

How should the Church approach the pastoral challenge? One approach that has been somewhat successful in creating interest among searching people is peer ministry.

Peer ministry means that people in the same category are invited to gather for an evening or a day to talk about their lives, their hopes, their needs in relation to a predetermined theme.

After talking, they are invited to think quietly about what they have heard and shared. Then they are invited to bring “where they are at” to God. They are invited to speak with God from their hearts without formulas.

They are encouraged to become comfortable with God’s presence and to begin the process of allowing God to become involved in their thoughts and in their lives.

In an inductive method of learning, they begin to research prayer forms based on their needs. At some point they can invite input from others. For example, they begin to study Part IV of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on prayer.

Or they begin to study the life of a saint to see how they prayed. Slowly, gradually they begin to make room for God in their lives and they freely choose to make prayer a part of their lives.

Periodically, I am asked to spend time with and eventually to celebrate liturgy for these “special interest” groups in the archdiocese. I am very impressed at what happens in the peer groups.

The non-threatening appeal of these peer groups is a pastoral instrument for the Church to investigate, relate to and try to share with people with whom it ordinarily has little contact. Voluntary peer groups can be occasions for teachable moments for the Church.

A method of prayer

As mentioned above, many people who are searching for God are not yet comfortable with prayer formulas or with formal liturgies. However, it is quite remarkable how comfortable they become with quiet and with informal talking to God.

There is a prayer form in the spiritual tradition of the Church called meditation which fits rather well with this stage of spiritual searching. It is a quiet conversation between a person and God. It is simple in method, personal and specific.

It has these parts:
1) Quieting oneself briefly and asking for the help of the Holy Spirit;
2) Thinking about some spiritual truth e.g. the theme of the meeting;
3) Applying the truth to oneself i.e. where a person finds herself/himself;
4) Making a decision to do something about what one has considered.

There is an important connection between prayer and love. Prayer should deepen our love for God and for others and for creation. It should lead us from selfishness to charity in its many forms.

As we pray, we ask God for forgiveness when we know we have failed to love and have sinned.

We ask God frequently each day for the grace to live in this all-inclusive way of love and to be faithful to the decisions we have made during meditation to improve.

Conclusion

Teach me to pray is a constant theme in the life of a Christian even a Christian who already has a serious commitment to the Lord. Teach me to pray, a modern challenge to the Church, must respect the principle of gradualism as it serves people.

Peer groups are a non threatening and helpful way to reach searching people, to teach them to pray and to  lead them into a relationship with God.

Families, parishes, schools, peer groups and retreat centres should do all that they can to respond creatively and patiently to this modern challenge.