Making Room for Meditative Prayer

While I was not raised in the Catholic tradition, I come from a long line of faithful Catholic women. My grandmother was a daily-Mass-attending, Eucharist-serving, funeral-meal-hosting servant of the church. I became a Christian in 2006, and she died in 2007. My own commitment to faith coincided only a short time with hers, but that brief overlap was a deep blessing.

Shortly before she fell ill, she gave me a rosary. I remember opening the small plastic box and holding the blue beads strung on a delicate chain. A piece of paper lay underneath, outlining the directions for the various steps to the Rosary prayer sequence. I sat on my twin bed, recited the words as directed, and found myself a bit confused about the purpose.

As a product of largely non-denominational instruction, most of the prayers I have heard are specific and circumstantial. I have been taught that God is a God of details, a Creator who knows the number of hairs on our heads and stars in the sky. He is the kind of God who does not let a sparrow fall without his knowledge. In short, liturgical and meditative prayer are simply not something I have had much exposure to.

No matter what tradition you come from, we all have the tendency to rely overly much on our familiar traditions. But buyer beware: no one tradition gets everything right, and we are wise to consider Jesus’ teachings when it comes to prayer—or anything else, for that matter. We are to follow him, not a religion.

In recent years, I have noticed a change in myself when I’m praying through specifics. While I certainly still offer God the day-to-day details of my life, my focus shifts when I am praying about something I fear. Rather than feeling as though I am communicating with a God of love, I notice myself worrying that I had better “cover everything,” lest I leave myself unprotected. Here’s an example of how I might pray before taking off in a plane:

Lord, I pray you would get us there safely. I pray you would give wisdom to the pilot and comfort those who are uneasy. I pray that you would keep all of the mechanical parts working correctly, tighten all the nuts and bolts and make sure the lines are clear for all the liquids.

Geez o’ Pete. Do you think it is likely for God to either keep a plane in the sky or bring it down because I may or may not have remembered to pray specifically that all the fuel lines were clear of obstruction? I think not.

While God certainly cares about and invites us to involve him in the minutiae of our lives, there is also a tipping point where what we are really doing is thinking we are in charge of the results of our prayer. It is one thing to pray specifics in faith that God cares about the details, and it is quite another to pray in detail because you think your words will make or break his care of you.

To this end, the gift my grandmother gave me has now come full circle. I have found great peace in the practice of meditative prayer. As an example, when I face fearful circumstances, I have begun to recite the Lord’s Prayer. It is the only direct prayer ever offered us by Jesus, and truly, it covers everything.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13 NIV)

While it may seem counterintuitive, avoiding focusing on the details of a situation can work against fear. This prayer, as well as other sections of Scripture you may find, cast a wide net that can soothe a troubled heart. It acknowledges God’s sovereignty; expresses our desire for his will; asks provision for today’s needs, absolution from our sin, the grace to deal with others, and protection from our own weaknesses and evil in general.

The Lord’s Prayer has it all. And while I see shadows of my specific situation when I pray it, I am not laser-focused on them any longer. I am instead a healthy distance away, filtering them through the lens of a loving God who cares about the details but cares about me far more. Meditative prayer now accompanies my usually specific practices, and it has been a great blessing.

*A note on the practice of meditation: As a mental health therapist and a Christian, I have encountered many Christians who shy away from meditation due to its foundations in Eastern philosophy. Meditation has a long and research-backed history of effectiveness for a variety of ills, anxiety included. It is certainly possible to remain true to Christ’s teachings and engage in this effective practice, the repetition of the Lord’s Prayer being only one of many examples. I would also direct you to the app/website Abide. It is specific to guided Christian meditation and has a number of options to engage in ways that best fit your needs.

Anne Rulo is an author, speaker, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist and veteran coach’s wife. She and her husband Tim have two children and are passionate about reaching people for Christ and sharing information on coaching, marriage, family, and mental health. Read more from Anne at www.annerulo.com.

Photograph © Artem Kovalev, used with permission