Slow Prayer

I recently learned to knit. Knitting can be meditative.

However, around Christmas, I found myself full of anxiety. I was trying to make gifts for friends, and I was running out of time. Quickening my pace resulted in mistakes, dropped stitches, and frustration. What was once enjoyable became a burden, another thing to do.

Some time later, I stumbled across a book called Slow Knitting.  

"The concept of slow knitting encourages us to stop in our tracks, take a breather from our busy lives, and reevaluate what we consume, what we make."

This made sense! Why turn my beloved hobby into another box I needed to check off a list? I wanted to savor the experience.

This got me thinking about other parts of my life that I rush through, fail to really experience. It made me wonder, what would happen if I tried to practice, Slow Prayer?

I know I am guilty of rushing my way through prayers I know by heart. I have definitely offered up hurried spontaneous prayer in times of worry or need. I've distractedly read my Bible, and I have lost track of Hail Marys while speeding through a decade of the Rosary. 

I want to try something new. I want to savor the experience. 

If you like, join me. Here are a few ideas. I'll add more in the next few weeks. Share any you find.

Sit with God in silence for a period of time. Read and reread the same passage from the Bible. Pray the words of a well-known prayer, but consider each word as if hearing it for the first time. Feel your prayer beads slip through your fingers, lingering on the words that accompany their soothing, smooth texture. 

Pray slowly. 

Stop in your tracks, take a breather from your busy life.

Reevaluate what you give, what you receive.

Slow Living