The "Ritual" of Prayer and Google Glasses

Technology makes the world an interesting place. Technology also makes the world a frightening place, and there are consequences, intended and unintended, to any new innovation. Google glasses being an example of how interpersonal relationships can go to a whole new level of weirdness.

Technology is a friend to those who are living far from home. Of course it’s also a potential double-crossing Judas … but perhaps that’s another article for another time.

Recently, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the ability I have to download an audio book, and listen while I walk or ride the Bus to the Grain of Wheat Center, or while I’m stuck in traffic on the busy UB streets, or while making a road trip to Darhan. This has been a blessing for me, which I’ve appreciated. I’ve listened to novels, non-fiction, biography … all kinds of things that I would have never had time to read. So that’s a great technological tool.

I recently listened to a book called The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working by Tony Schwartz. While I would take issue with some of his evolutionistic worldview, I did find his writing and the premise of this book to be helpful and thought provoking. Time management is not nearly as important as “energy management” at every level of our humanity: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. One of the practical concepts Schwartz discusses in his writing has to do with the development and use of ritual as a means to manage and conserve our limited energy reserve.*

The idea of “ritual” in an age that’s drowning in information and with a drought of reflective thinking could be a repulsive thing. It is interesting the distaste that modern Christians in particular have to the word “ritual”. Our imaginations take us to some kind of weird and archaic temple where strange sacrifices are taking place, or perhaps to the practices of emotionally unstable potential serial killers. What Schwartz is talking about is developing habits and patterns in life that turn things which might be difficult or require a lot of will power into a habit that requires little to no “will power”. It’s just “what I do”. I like to think of it in terms of daily rhythems. Ritual is actually something the human brain is wired for, and once we understand this, it becomes a powerful thing.

I’ve been thinking about this in terms of prayer and other spiritual disciplines. The idea of rhythmic prayer is not a new at all. Nor is it confined to the Christian world. The Muslim faith has a well-known “ritual” of prayer. The beauty of Christian prayer is that we come through the completed work of Jesus, and have an Advocate and a Mediator.

Before the Throne of God Above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me

Seventh Century Celtic spirituality followed a prayer rhythem that involved morning prayers, midday prayers, evening prayers and complines. It wasn’t overly long or complicated prayer times. Much of the time it was just a pause to recite Scripture and to take a moment to look to God as the center of our day and of what we do for the day. This day. There is a simplicity and a natural beauty in this kind of daily, rhythmic spirituality that deeply appeals to me. It’s a practice I once walked in, to some extent. It’s a practice … a ritual, if you will … that I wish to walk in again. We should welcome a ritual like this and not be offended by such.

I am considering the implementation of a plan at our Center where we stop three times every day to pray. It doesn’t have to be long prayers. In fact, it shouldn’t. However, prayer should be fundamental to what we are doing in our work, and not simply an after thought. What if the entire work day schedule where centered around our prayer times, rather than trying to structure our prayers times into the work schedule? What if our calendars had prayer in integrated into our days on routine and regular times? I am completely convinced that if we do not plan to pray, we will not pray except in the direst of circumstances.

I know that not every work place can … or even should … incorporate prayer into the rhythem of the day. That is something we all have to figure out on our own. However, I think this is a pattern we can make happen at the Grain of Wheat Center. I want to experiment with a rhythem, where God is the first thing we think about in the morning, Who we turn in the heat of the day, and our last thought as we leave our work place in the evening.

Let the beauty of the Lord God be upon us.
Establish Thou the work of our hands;
Yes, establish Thou the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17 from the Celtic Book of Prayer

*Schwartz sites quite a bit of research which has been done in the area of human nuero-science, and it’s fascinating to see the way we have been fearfully and wonderfully made (versus unintentionally and accidentally evolved). It’s an good read, and I do recommend it.

You can order SchWartz's book here: The Way We're Working Isn't Working

Also, for a rhythem of prayer that works, check out this Book. Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community. I still use this on a regular basis. Excellent patterns from a long heratige.