• Prayer is basically a tool of communication

• That communication is about how we may use our words and images as we ‘speak’ to God

• More importantly prayer is about how God can ‘speak’ to us

• When we attend church we will hear prayers in all different types and forms – some will be very beautifully written and said by the priest – such as the prayer we call the Collect, and this is a printed prayer from the church’s prayer book.

• Other prayers you will hear are lead by various people, and these will be about the church, the world, the community, the sick, and the departed. They will often end with the words, ‘Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer’. These prayers are called intercessions.

• When we hear well written prayers it can be a bit intimidating to start praying yourself. The important thing is that God does not correct your English. What he desires is the genuineness of your prayer

• You can pray so easily just by mentioning a tragedy in the world, or someone you know who is ill, or your family, or for yourself – yes it is OK to pray for yourself if you have a genuine need and feel that you need to share that in prayer with God.

• Prayers can be just single liners – Dear God, thank you for this new day. Amen.

Heavenly Father, look after my loved ones today. Amen. Almighty God, give me the strength to face the challenges of this day (or your weaknesses etc). Amen. The word Amen is important in prayer. It is a Hebrew word that means you affirm, or agree with what is being prayed.

Note – it is possible to buy books of prayers that you can use each day and the Cornerstone Bookshop in Dollar Street, Cirencester, has a wonderful range. You can contact them on our Parish Website as well.

• Prayer is not just about words – it can be about creating a stillness within yourself so that you allow God some time and space to be with you. We call this Christian mediation.

• This type of prayer can be helped in different ways – we might light a candle at home or in a church and spend some time focussing on the light and the heat and think of the light of Christ, or the heat that can be God’s love for us.

• We might equally make use of a picture, a cross, or an icon

• We might use a set formula of words over and over again until the words become part of your prayer eg the ‘Jesus Prayer’ – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me.

• The important thing is about creating time for this in our busy lives, and being disciplined.

• As you approach baptism, either for yourself or for your child, it is important that you give consideration to the part that prayer plays in your life. Will you pray with your children when they are old enough? Will you be embarrassed to let them see/hear you praying?

• Once you have agreed with yourself that prayer will be part of your life it will quickly become much easier to do – at least at this level.

• Some people are able to spend a great deal of time in prayer, and they can usually be identified because of this, but they had to start somewhere, just as we are asking you to start somewhere. Don’t be put off by the fact that it looks like some people are better people than you because they pray with better words or for longer periods! Just start doing it.

• In praying it is important that we say prayers of thanksgiving as well for the blessings we receive.

• The church has a particular ‘Great Prayer of Thanksgiving’ or the Eucharistic Prayer. See the document on the Eucharist

• In the Eucharistic Prayer we lift the hearts of the faithful people gathered in church, and then give thanks to God for his action in the world, and especially in sending his Son, Jesus Christ. We then recall his words at the Last Supper.

• As part of this prayer we ask God to send the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine, so that in faith we may know that we receive the body and blood of Christ.

• At the end of this prayer, of course the congregation has to say ‘Amen’, in order to complete the prayer. ‘Yes, Lord this is OUR prayer’.

• When Jesus is asked about prayer he offers the words that we know as The Lord’s Prayer. It is a universally used prayer, and in every language. If you do not know it, perhaps a good starting place would be to memorize this, and make use of the prayer each day.

• It is often used in a traditional English form in our churches, but here is a more modern version

This introduces you to prayer – we will be praying for you as you think about baptism. Remember to pray for Christ’s church.

AMEN.