There are many things in life which cause us serious heartache and concern. And although prayer may not be top of the list, I have found that it is a topic which frequently gives rise to some anxiety. ‘How do you do it?’ ‘Does it work?’ ‘How do you get the time?’

I would like to suggest just a few ideas.

Being a priest, I am very conscious that I am not involved in the early morning activity in many families, with children to get off to school and breakfasts to be got. Or even in situations which, though less unpredictable, nonetheless are time-bounded. But anyway I am going to take a chance and see what comes.

The thinking behind this whole exercise is simply an attempt to give God a chance to find himself a place with us as we start the day. And help us be aware of Him. We need to be honest with ourselves and accept the fact that we are busy people. Maybe these ideas might help us in our ‘busyness’. I hope so. Mind you, it is also possible that we might find that they are part of our experience already though maybe we have not put the tag ‘prayer’ on them.

I am talking five or ten minutes in the morning. Perhaps this brief experience at the beginning of our day may possibly be a touchstone during the rest of the day when things sometimes get a little fraught or hectic.

I must admit I always start with this prayer as I feel that it sets the scene and says such a lot.

And it’s that last bit that reminds us what we are about today. Living for God and growing as a Christian.

We are talking about giving God our undivided attention for a short while at the beginning of our day. And to help us do this. To help us open the door or window, or even just a cat flap, through which God can squeeze, for a few minutes, it is a good idea to try to clear some of the obstacles out of the way first. Some of the debris. The things cluttering the front of our minds. The things buzzing about as we begin the day. To try to become simply aware of ourselves, almost in a vacuum, so that it is just me conscious before my God.

Here are just a few exercises we may use as we try to isolate ourselves from our surroundings and the environment we are in.

I must admit that I have found this quite an interesting method which can work. We regard the outer limits of ourselves being the skin round us. So we mentally recognise and acknowledge all the parts of our body in order. We concentrate on our feet, one at a time, toes, ankles, shins, knees and onwards right through body till we get to the top of our head. I become the extent of my whole world.

Depending on the mood we are in, this can be quite an effective exercise.

This method requires a bit of geography and a bit of imaginary flight path technology. We site ourselves exactly where we are and then make connections with the actual location of our friends and family who are in different parts of the country or the world, without particularly dwelling on the people in question. Then come back to ourselves.

We become absorbed in the friend-inhabited world at large of which we are the focal point.

This is a bit more difficult to explain without it appearing that we are beating our mind into submission and so pulling down the drawbridge on the possibility of anything getting in, be it distraction or other person, or even God. It is what is sometimes referred to as the Christian Mantra. A short punchy religious phrase which when repeated gradually moves us onto a plain when our mind is full of the thought behind the words and so divorced from everything outside ourselves. This technique has its roots firmly set in the Christian tradition. I’ll give an example, though I do think that it is possibly best if you can work one out for yourself which can have its own personal relevance. The one I do attempt from time to time is: God our Father - Send your Spirit. It is in two halves, by intention, the first half can be said as I breath in, and the second half as I breathe out.

It all sounds a little bit artificial doesn’t it but it is worth giving it a try to see how you get on.

On this same point, but not using a Bible text or anything like that, we just go back to the opening few words of our starter prayer and use them: Direct O Lord and guide and influence. Again a two-parter. I must admit that these days I have taken to use this phrase myself as much as any. The benefit of it as well I find is that if I am drifting badly off in the centre part of my prayer it is a good way to being me back in a very honest no-nonsense-part-of-my-experience language.

Just a suggestion.

WHAT WE ARE ABOUT

I feel that once we have moved through one of the above methods it is good to remind ourselves what they are about. More that just techniques to clear our mind and that is it. Like meditating on the middle of a Polo mint and leaving it at that. No. They are in fact meant to help us to see ourselves as people who are uniquely valuable in the eyes of God simply because of who we are. Individually valued by him irrespective of where we are or what we have or whom we are with. To isolate us for the moment from all these considerations. And being more aware of our importance in God’s eyes and our own, therefore to be open to his influence. They are not methods or tricks which lull us into a kind of spiritual ambrosia where the world is a cosy place where we await our God snuggling down with us in our pious duvet. No. In order to pray well, in order to be open to ourself and open to our God, we need to be comfortable, at ease, with ourselves and with our God - reminding ourselves that being comfortable is a far cry from being cosy.

SO WHAT NEXT?

And here I feel that we just let it happen. The initial state is one where we simply concentrate on the inside of our eyelids. Sometimes called 'centring' as we become intimately aware of ourselves. And then we continue. If we are more or less able to remain in whatever mood or internal atmosphere we have been able to create we just try to keep an open mind as to God coming in through the door or the window or the cat flap. Ideas, suggestions, inspirations or whatever. It takes a lot of faith but it is the faith we have.

Or again we may take the initiative more and simply graze over the day ahead and stop now and again on particular engagements or incidents where we feel we could be needing some particular help. Not to tick of items like a business agenda but rather acknowledge certain times of the day when we would like God to be especially involved. Or we may focus on a particular person we are due to meet and maybe ask for a better appreciation of them.

We are not talking a long time - just as long as we have. But there again it does not take a long time for God to communicate with us. We just need to give him a chance.

And then my own personal practice is to conclude my specific prayer time with a slightly adapted version of the prayer I started with.

And finish with the sign of the cross.