Unfortunately no. At least not really in my circles. I have seen it from a distance in other traditions or denominations though.
I think there are some steps we could take to do that. For example, we could rely on the wealth of church history. Maybe read written prayers in the service that focus solely on communion with God.
I think we could also teach the full scope of prayer from the Scriptures rather than just focusing on the "ask and you will receive" passages.
I think also getting away from the type of church prayer gatherings where people just come with massive lists of prayer requests. Instead, spend most of the time communing with God (maybe also praying through a Psalm) and the rest of the time for petitionary prayer.
What a fantastic analysis! The Ancient Mariner has long been my favorite poem and you have done it such justice in exploring Coleridge’s themes about prayer. I find it so beautiful how the classic poets/writers/thinkers approached prayer and relationship with God; if today’s church regained just a fraction of this kind of reverence and desire for who God is, our culture would be radically changed. I so enjoyed this article!
I fully agree. I am really hoping that people begin to realize we have so much to learn from the way the poets think about God. I know a lot of people just write them off as esoteric or something. However, once you begin to read them and sit with them, you start to understand their language and realize they have much wisdom to share.
Have you seen this approached to prayer taught or modeled in the local church well? What’d that look like?
That's a great question.
Unfortunately no. At least not really in my circles. I have seen it from a distance in other traditions or denominations though.
I think there are some steps we could take to do that. For example, we could rely on the wealth of church history. Maybe read written prayers in the service that focus solely on communion with God.
I think we could also teach the full scope of prayer from the Scriptures rather than just focusing on the "ask and you will receive" passages.
I think also getting away from the type of church prayer gatherings where people just come with massive lists of prayer requests. Instead, spend most of the time communing with God (maybe also praying through a Psalm) and the rest of the time for petitionary prayer.
Those are just some quick thoughts!
What a fantastic analysis! The Ancient Mariner has long been my favorite poem and you have done it such justice in exploring Coleridge’s themes about prayer. I find it so beautiful how the classic poets/writers/thinkers approached prayer and relationship with God; if today’s church regained just a fraction of this kind of reverence and desire for who God is, our culture would be radically changed. I so enjoyed this article!
Thanks for reading!
I fully agree. I am really hoping that people begin to realize we have so much to learn from the way the poets think about God. I know a lot of people just write them off as esoteric or something. However, once you begin to read them and sit with them, you start to understand their language and realize they have much wisdom to share.