This page is all about learning to pray. If you want someone to pray for you or with you, whatever that might be for, we offer prayer ministry after our 10am Sunday Eucharist each week, and we also have our Wheel of prayer group who pray daily for any one who asks for prayer for themselves or for others. Please contact the Parish office or one of the clergy using the details found HERE and they will be delighted to help you.
Prayer, like worship, is at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian. To pray is to talk to God. And it’s a two way thing, we need to listen as well as to speak, a bit like any other relationship.
At St Paul’s we believe that we are all called to persevere in prayer, both for ourselves, our community and the world. We value and participate in different styles of prayer, either by ourselves at home, or indeed corporately in our weekly worship. Through prayer we come before God in humility, receiving his forgiveness and a sense of his love, hopeful for ourselves and the world around us and thankful for all that he has given to each of us.
There are many forms of Christian prayer that have developed across the centuries. In recent years the church has rediscovered contemplative prayer and spending time in silent prayer too. Occasionally we host a “Quiet Day”. A Quiet day is time set aside to reflect and renew our faith. It’s a time of focused contemplation when we take a theme and use it to help us to connect with God. These days use plenty of stillness and silence to help us to contemplate.
If the more reflective and contemplative type of prayer appeals to you then you may find the following website helpful. http://www.sacredspace.ie/ The Pray-as-you-go part of the website leads you into a 10 minute reflection every day. If you use a smart phone you can download the ‘Pray as you go’ App
If you have never thought about prayer before, or indeed don’t know where to start the Church of England Website has a helpful “Learn to Pray” page on it’s website which you can find HERE.
During the week we hold a service of Morning Prayer at 9am from Tuesday to Fridays in the St. Peter’s Chapel inside St Paul’s, and you are welcome to join us. The Church of England also publishes its short services of Morning and Evening Prayer, in both traditional and contemporary versions on it’s website for every day, or you can download the prayer apps to use on a tablet or mobile phone. Click HERE for more information and to download the apps
A favourite prayer for many people at St. Paul’s is the prayer of St. Richard who was Bishop of Chichester from 1244-1253. You might like to add his prayer to those you pray each day.
“Thanks be to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me: O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly. Amen.“