Sacramental Prayer

The Concept

A sacrament is a physical vehicle of God's intangible grace; it is the mundane infused with the Holy, the created infused with the Creator. God repeatedly chooses to present himself to us through physical realities, through sensual experience: we see symbols throughout creation, we hear the praises of his people and the word of his apostles, we taste his body, we feel water on our skin in baptism and touch others as we serve, and even the smell of incense should remind us of prayers. In the ultimate sacrament, Christ came to dwell with us in our physical realm, taking on the form of a man (Phil 2:6-7).

In Foster's sense of Sacramental Prayer, then, he is referring to rituals and words created by others that we adopt and lift up to the Creator ourselves. The modern church often chafes against liturgy, seeking to avoid self-righteous or forced displays of outward piety. But both liturgical sacrament and spontaneous intimacy can be inspired prayer. “We come before God in liturgical dignity and charismatic jubilee. Both are vital to an unabridged experience of prayer.” It is not good for us that we would reject one for the other. Our God should be encountered in both familiarity and in reverence. Yes, we may approach God with confidence through Christ (Eph 3:12), but throughout the scripture, righteous men fall on their faces in his presence. The Lamb of God holds seven flaming stars in his right hand, the same hand he uses to comfort us in our fear (Rev 1:16-17).

We know the Old Testament is full of detailed religious ritual, but the New Testament also teaches the sacraments, and Paul included well-known hymns in his epistles. Liturgy connects us with the wider body of Christ; speaking the words of the early church over our lives today is an act of unity. Relying on another's words to speak our heart undermines our pride while at the same time providing us outside encouragement.

There are pitfalls of course. There is “going through motions.” There is the archaic language that may have lost meaning over time. However, the idea of vain repetition that Jesus criticized in Matt 6:7 is a criticism of the heart not the action. The heart of Sacramental Prayer joins the worship - in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) - of the church across continents and through the ages.

To practice this type of prayer, Foster suggests starting by singing the psalter, approaching Communion with the awe of its mystery, or praying attentive to body position.

The Experience

I'm a bit torn on this one. Yes, I believe sacramental prayer is an integral part of a healthy prayer life, but spending a week on it alone felt stilted.

The first day I read Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest, which was wonderful. It was freeing to let go of the responsibility for my own devotional “syllabus,” and I was fed by this man's word of God. The next day I explored the Book of Common Prayer and was frustrated by it. Many of the prayers did not feel applicable to me or my experience. I found I could not stay on the words written by others, but prayed around them (which may be the point?). Maybe it would be richer if they were memorized prayers, as they serve in the orthodox churches. Often reciting the Lord's Prayer or the Apostle's Creed moves me. There is definitely something awe-inspiring in speaking today the same words of the church centuries ago.

I had a sweet moment where I prayed at the foot my bed before climbing in for sleep. Though intentional body positions feel awkward at first, they awaken the whole self into the moment and act of prayer. It is similar to physically raising ones arms while singing a worship song. This definitely requires more exploration.

Ultimately, however, I constantly struggled this week with feeling too "scripted" and unnatural. I will probably take a week off from these blog exercise to recover some spontaneity and the freedom of responsiveness in my prayer life.