Unknowing

The tradition of Christian prayer follows the Judaic practise of counting a day as the period from sunset to sunset. Jesus is killed on the day before the Passover Sabbath, and is laid to rest in haste to avoid violating, the day of rest commanded in the Torah. 

'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.' (Exodus 20:8-10)

Even those closest to Jesus would not have wanted to break the Sabbath rest by continuing the rituals associated with death and mourning. They suspend everyday activity naturally, and simply stop until they can resume what they'd started. This Sabbath is a day of waiting, waiting inertly with all the dark heavy pain of undischarged grief on their hearts, not knowing what will be revealed in the dawning of the third day after Jesus was betrayed and condemned to death. 

This day is unlike any other in the year, as the church lives, knowing how the story turns out, yet waiting for what will be revealed, busy with making everything ready to celebrate the coming Day of the Lord. It is a day for spring cleaning places of worship, of preparation for the forty days of celebration to come. Yet, everything is conducted in humble quietness, mindful of what Jesus accomplished by his obedience to death, even on a cross.

One vivid image sheds light upon this day of prayer, threaded through with expressions of penitence and trust - the harrowing of hell.

'After being made alive, he (Jesus) went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits'  

(1 Peter 3:19-20)

This passage has long been interpreted as referring to what happened to Jesus after he died, before he made himself known again to Mary Magdalene and the disciples. It appears in that phrase of the creeds which states 'He descended into hell', where 'Hell', refers to the place of the dead - Sheol, in Hebrew thinking. The good news proclaimed by the church is that the work of Jesus goes beyond the boundaries of time, and reaches backwards and forwards in our understanding of history. 

The church proclaims that nobody who ever lived is beyond reach of God's generous mercy. Not only is this a day for making peace with the living, but also remembering the dead, those who have gone before us, whose lives may have been less than exemplary, but for good or ill, touched our lives in some way. Through Jesus, all who have looked beyond themselves find their place in God's grace.

There is so much we cannot know about the mystery of God's grace and how it works. This is, in a way, a day of unknowing, in the life of prayer, as we wait for the dawn of a new day. Waiting in darkness and silence is far from comfortable, whether we follow the church's liturgical rhythm of prayer, or simply try to meditate on the mystery of descent into hell. It is however, a training in humble patience, unable to anticipate anything.  We can make ready to celebrate, but without being free to celebrate until the time of waiting is over.

This is a position many people encounter as patients undergoing medical procedures, as victims or as the accused in judicial procedures. It can feel very lonely, yet we are not alone. So many like us have gone before, but the promise of hope revealed by the faithfulness of Jesus never departs. In prayer we can only cling to this.

'Wait for the Lord, his day is near; wait for the Lord, be strong take heart' (Psalm 27:14)

Attentive listening

'Oh that today you would listen to my voice; harden not your hearts.' (Psalm 95:3)

'Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people.' (Jeremiah 7:23)

God doesn't force obedience on his children, but appeals to them to listen to his voice. Listening is an active effort involving concentration, discernment. The social skills developed for pastoral counselling or befriending are needed also in prayer. 

Prayer involves learning to be attentive, and waiting for God to address us. It may well be that words and ideas take shape through the power of imagination when we are quiet, open hearted, seeking God's presence. For some people natural conversation with God releases needed insight. 

'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered ... ' (Isaiah 6:8-12)

For others words, come out of deep silence, when they don't know what to say. They come from beyond us, incomprehensibly. They can be words of hope and encouragement, like these words to persecuted first century Christians.

'Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Even so," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them".' (Revelation 14:13)

Images or sounds may also present themselves, or something indefinable that arises from the depths of the self and takes shape in an impulse to action. We may not even know why until we have trusted and responded to the impulse. This leads to creative initiatives that will nurture, encourage, build up, stimulate or challenge in a way that is fruitful for others. No divinely inspired impulse can lead to harming others. It is the work of the Spirit within us.

Even if renewing and creative processes be painful, like the labour pains which St Paul refers to (Romans 8:22) the work of Spirit is not divisive or damaging. The idea that it can be is a deceitful illusion. As Jesus says: "Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls upon house." (Luke 11:17b)

The church acclaims the Spirit as 'Lord and giver of life' in all its rich diversity. There are many ways of praying, but the fruit of the Spirit is discernable in them all.

 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)

We cannot listen attentively to God without also being attentive to check that our own behaviour genuinely expresses the fruit of the Spirit.

'Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know by thoughts.' (Psalm 139:23)
   

Learning how to wait

Jesus speaks about persistence in prayer through the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-7), and the importance of 'not losing heart' i.e. being discouraged, when it seems as if there is no result, no change for the effort made. Awareness, concentration and persistence don't come naturally, they develop over the passage of time.

The scriptures provide powerful examples of of prayers eloquently expressing praise and penitence, sometimes at great length. These are often conceived by people in times of trial or great joy, when making time to pray is less of an effort, since it is a response driven by exceptional experiences. As desire grows to get to know and trust God, and work on the relationship in earnest however, it can be harder to make more time for prayer routinely, given the pressure everyday life exerts to divert us. This can be discouraging, and leave us feeling guilty and ashamed.

It is better to remember that God is always ready to welcome us, however much or little time we manage to set aside. God knows better than we do the conflicting forces at work in us, consciously and unconsciously, and awaits our response.

'Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.' (Matt 6:8b) 

'Lord you have searched me and known me, you know my resting and my rising, you perceive my thoughts from afar, all my ways lie open to you.' (Ps 139:1-2)

God is patient with us. From him we too can learn patience, with others and with ourselves. The word 'patience' has its root in the Latin 'patio', to suffer. Its meaning is given as 'the capacity to wait, to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.' In relating to God in prayer, learning how to wait, is part of learning persistence 

'Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find.' (Luke 11:9) Words of Jesus which reassure us that there is purpose to persistence. Even so, what we find may not be what we thought we wanted, but it will be what God gives us, and we will learn to recognise this, as we persist in prayer, and realise that we can be thankful in all circumstances.

'Wait for the LORD; be strong, let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!' (Ps 27:14)