Seasons of Prayer

Oct 29, 20245 min read

Navigating through transition periods in your prayer life.

Prayer, like life, goes through natural rhythms of ebbs and flows. What excites us one day, may cause us indifference another day. We may find ourselves getting out of our desired rhythms for any number of reasons - a time change, a season change, an illness, a celebration, an added extracurricular activity, an added family member, moving, a trip, our own circadian rhythm. See? There are many different things that can impact how, why, when, and where we find the time to pray.

Seasons of abundant prayer aren't any better than spiritually dry seasons, they're just different. In her book Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds Flora Wuellner shares "fallow periods are healthy for all of us." Allow me to elaborate using a metaphor I understand well. I grew up in a farming community, with fields surrounding my home. One year the fields may have alfalfa (hay to feed to livestock), the next year it may have corn, the year after that it may have nothing at all, then it may have soybeans. The years when nothing is grown is the field is called a fallow period. A chance to give the earth time to rest.

Why does the earth need to rest? That's a good question. Plants like alfalfa and soybeans are called legumes. As they grow they release nitrogen into the soil. Nitrogen is good for the soil, it helps other things grow after the alfalfa is harvested. Corn, on the other hand, leeches nitrogen from the soil using it to grow. Alfalfa adds, corn takes. A year of nothing allows the earth to restore, and prepare for the next season.

What we notice is weeds, maybe a random corn stalk, but certainly nothing "pretty." There are no neat rows, no even growth, and nothing that really looks particularly pleasing. In fact, it may seem ugly, or boring to the naked eye. What we don't notice is what's going on beneath the surface; how the earth is preparing or what healing is taking place because it's given the chance to relax, and stop performing.

The interesting thing about fallow periods is that some growth still takes place. It isn't just a dried up field. Likewise in our spiritual journey. You may have the lingering corn stalk of memorized Scripture that comes to mind. Maybe the growth, and development of something that needed to surface but didn't get the chance. Like Wuellner says, "these may be times in which some deep healing or new growth is being experienced at levels far below our consciousness."

All that being said, if you're concerned about your prayer rhythm, here are some helpful suggestions.

Recite the Lord's Prayer

Generations of Christians before us, before the Church, would say the Lord's prayer. You don't have to say all day, every day, but when you feel stuck it can be a helpful practice.

Pray the Daily Office

If you have access to a smart phone, there's an app called "Common Prayer." The Daily Office are prayers that follow the canonical hours (specific times set aside for prayer) chosen by the Anglican church, based on the Common Book of Prayer that was written in 1549. There are prayers for the morning (Matins), prayers for the evening (Vespers), and they revolve around Scripture, hymns, and Creeds (Apostle's & Nicene). You may also come across Compline (before bed), and Midday. This is slightly different from the Catholic or Benedictine Monastery times of prayer, which include midnight and 3AM.

If you're looking for something you can hold, I recommend Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours series.

Prayer Guides

I have two prayer guides that I find very helpful - A Guide to Prayer for All God's People, and A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck. If you're a Pastor or Spiritual Leader they also have A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants.

For the most part, Job and Shawchuck use the liturgical calendar (seasons that occur within the Christian year, like Advent for example). They offer daily scripture readings, a weekly psalm, space for writing and reflection, a hymn, readings for reflection that go along with the theme of the week, and opening and closing prayers. I've found these prayer guides to be a really helpful tool.

Sitting in Silence

For those of us who have to do something in order for our time of prayer to be considered "good," this may go against your natural inclinations. We're programmed through our culture that production is good, so if we aren't being productive we aren't being good.

If you can't seem to pray, you don't want to pray, or you don't know what to pray - just sit silently in God's presence. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? What thoughts are getting in the way? If you normally spend 30 minutes in prayer, spend 30 minutes in silence.

Paraphrase a Psalm or Passage

Maybe you include Scripture reading in your prayer time. Maybe you picked up one of the guides of books I suggested at the bottom of this post. Maybe you have a story, or psalm that is speaking to your right now. Well, get out your journal, and write it in your own words. In this way, you're praying God's Word back to Him.

You can see my paraphrase of Psalm 139 on my Substack found here.

Get Creative

Write a poem. Paint a picture. Listen to music. Engage your creative side, giving the joy and wonder back to God as your ponder your way through your prayer time.

Having a "slow" prayer time isn't anything to be worried about. What concerns me more is when we force ourselves to do something, and ignore our natural rhythms. If I expected myself to be joyfully ecstatic whenever my family was near me, it would soon overwhelm them... and I'd become annoying even to myself.

Be gracious with yourself. Wait and see where God is growing you, and stretching you out of your comfort zone.