Spiritual Disciplines Handbook
Pray
Prayer as a phenomenon is an act of sharing and moral grace before God, who is ready to hear our voice if we open up to him. The heart is the natural source of our thoughts; only opening it will allow God to hear us, and prayer is the only way to show it (Calhoun, 2005). Various practices, such as praying the breath, help achieve peace and harmony between our feelings and outward appearance.
In addition, Calhoun (2005) pays attention to centering prayer, which focuses the person on connecting the heart to God and entrusting their thoughts to him as a treasure. Centering prayer is combined with contemplative prayer – the ability to create, reflect, and be sincere without expressing words. It is the simplicity we entrust to God, seeking to prove faith in quiet joy and tranquility without empty words (Calhoun, 2005). Although spoken prayers are just as much a source of reflection and dialogue with God, group prayers can be challenging for those not yet fully ready to open up.
Fasting is the oldest way to overcome temptation and its deleterious effect on the person. Fasting makes our lives easier because it is the only way we can taste the meaning of faith and its necessity. Prayer is our work and training, and the source of wisdom and repentance are in God’s hands (Calhoun, 2005). Society might seek more conscious prayer if its meaning were transparent and clear.
However, praying is a work – our responsibility to God, demonstrating our spiritual healing and desire to comprehend true redemption. No matter how badly spiritual wounds hurt, prayer will allow us to look within ourselves because God will tell us how to deal with the burden (Calhoun, 2005). It is logical to wonder why God can help the laity, but it is those who ask and ask who can wait for an answer. Eventually, each person praying will see their desires become God’s desires, and the Holy Spirit will help interpret the meaning of the prayers.
Prayers are cyclical and varied, combining unique signs and paths. The journey to God is not an easy path, it can be confusing and thorny, but in the end, we always arrive at the center of the maze, leaving behind noises and a rush (Calhoun, 2005). As children, we take our first steps toward prayer – thanking God for the dinner, the roof over our heads, and usually not attaching importance to all these graces. Liturgical principles allow us to anchor this gratitude and finally realize their value. A prayer is an act of partnership and cooperation that facilitates our repentance. Confession and a real willingness to look within us is the only way to make prayer the kind that will bring our aspirations to God.
Spiritual Growth Planner
Personal growth reflects our capacity for empathy and acceptance of the reality in which we are part of the God’s design and search for ourselves. Planning a path toward God and common repentance must not come from a desire to prove our worth to someone else; and only sincerity will allow us to move forward. Understanding the roots of behavior and the purpose of the Christian life are our tasks if we want to achieve spiritual growth (Calhoun, 2005). Just as it is not enough to decide to follow a new path one day, it is not easy to change our habitual way of life and turn it entirely toward God. It is questioning sincere desires and openness in prayer and relationships with other believers that will help one reach a whole new level of relationship with God.
Soul Care in African American Practice
Dr. Carter’s Insights on Prayer in African American Culture
Prayers are a mode of communication and dialogue that can shape our reality and knowledge of society. Dr. Carter offers to share his experience with prayer and its role in African American culture, revealing the value of spiritual power (Peacock, 2020). Power of spiritual path has long been a leading force for the black community, and the prayers become essential over the time. Dr. Carter defines them as the source of forming a unique way of life and habit that defines essential personality traits and allows society to influence others by creating a new religious reality. Dr. Carter appeals to anyone willing to hear God in sacred texts and explore Christianity.
Dr. Ingram’s Exploration of the Spiritual Journey in African Context
The spiritual journey in the African context is an unfamiliar and surprising combination of exploring oneself. Dr. Ingram explores this phenomenon, finding the journey through spiritual labyrinths a source of creating and establishing a relationship with God (Peacock, 2020). She suggests that such journeys will bring one closer to God as they turn the perception of religion and direct the exploration of self and faith in a new direction. Dr. Ingram believes that the complex journey of African culture made religion so widespread in society and fundamentally changed spirituality.
Mrs. King’s Perspective on the Role of Prayer in the Civil Rights Struggle
It is a prayer that has become the primary tool of communication that has elevated the value of the spiritual journey to the pinnacle of human need. One should consider Mrs. King’s point of view, who explicitly says prayers changed the civil rights struggle (Peacock, 2020). The struggle became a new reality in which prayer opened people’s hearts to God, and he gave them strength and hope that their struggle would not simply be over. Prayer gave faith that all acts pay off because they come from a sincere and unfathomable desire to share every precious moment of life with God and society.
Dr. Washington’s View on the Role of Rest and Prudence in Prayer
Believers question how to dialogue with God so that He will hear. In striving to know this, we may not be aware of our insincerity because we are in a perpetual pursuit and pursuit of work (Peacock, 2020). Dr. Washington offers a fresh perspective on prayer: although they are still working, the value of rest and prudence in work should not be forgotten. Perhaps without this acceptance, the black community would never have integrated its culture: slavery had tainted relations between one another for many years.
Dr. Thurman’s Reflection on Suffering and Prayer in African Culture
Furthermore, only cooperation and the strength created by reason and labor among African cultures make it possible to rush forward. Perhaps suffering has finally paid off, and Dr. Thurman believes that opening one’s wounds and the horrors of the experience lead to the possibility that God may hear us (Peacock, 2020). It has become essential for African culture to accept these difficulties, learn to forgive, and be thankful that God accepts them.
The Cultural Influence on Prayer and Its Sincerity
Consequently, in viewing prayer as a tool for interaction and connection, we should not forget the cultural experience that significantly alters our perception of the world. It affects our ability to do anything, so everyone interprets prayers differently. However, the primary and most important thing is the sincerity we must approach prayer. Whatever the prayer, if it comes from the heart, we can be sure it will be heard.
References
Calhoun, A. A. (2005). Spiritual disciplines handbook. InterVarsity Press.
Peacock, B. L. (2020). Soul care in African American practice. InterVarsity Press.