Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Prayer time: Resumption of normal service (iii)
(Category: faith)
Another thing last week that made me ponder was a question from my Tai Chi teacher (or "Chinese Dance" as GLW puts it). Being of a "spiritual" bent and teaching meditation among other things TCT asked how much I prayed a week.
Now, I know that sometimes it is hard to define what counts as prayer, or how many "arrow-prayers" make one minute, and whether to count the Eucharistic Prayer and other "service-leading vicarious prayers" etc etc but I was able to work out that on an average week I'd managed only 40 minutes of intercession and listening in Morning and Evening Prayer.
Yet... we are called to be people of prayer. How would my relationship with GLW or LM develop (or not) if they had 40 minutes a week from me? I spend an hour most weeks in Tai Chi lessons, of which 15 minutes is meditation, and properly accounted should add to my weekly total.
I used to do 70 minutes or so a day for a year or so at Poly. I wouldn't think twice about spending 40 minutes or more on personal writing on a quiet evening. So, it was an interesting bit of perspective assessment.
And I still haven't worked out a correct response, not forgetting my tendency to fall asleep, sorry make that "meditate in the presence of God" if I spend more than 5 minutes or so listening to God much of the time!) ¶ 8:41 pm
Another thing last week that made me ponder was a question from my Tai Chi teacher (or "Chinese Dance" as GLW puts it). Being of a "spiritual" bent and teaching meditation among other things TCT asked how much I prayed a week.
Now, I know that sometimes it is hard to define what counts as prayer, or how many "arrow-prayers" make one minute, and whether to count the Eucharistic Prayer and other "service-leading vicarious prayers" etc etc but I was able to work out that on an average week I'd managed only 40 minutes of intercession and listening in Morning and Evening Prayer.
Yet... we are called to be people of prayer. How would my relationship with GLW or LM develop (or not) if they had 40 minutes a week from me? I spend an hour most weeks in Tai Chi lessons, of which 15 minutes is meditation, and properly accounted should add to my weekly total.
I used to do 70 minutes or so a day for a year or so at Poly. I wouldn't think twice about spending 40 minutes or more on personal writing on a quiet evening. So, it was an interesting bit of perspective assessment.
And I still haven't worked out a correct response, not forgetting my tendency to fall asleep, sorry make that "meditate in the presence of God" if I spend more than 5 minutes or so listening to God much of the time!) ¶ 8:41 pm
