Justin Appel
Dear Friends,
In today’s Gospel lesson, Mark 1:29-45, we read that Jesus went out very early in the morning to a secluded place ‘and there he prayed’. This pattern is familiar to us from the various Gospel accounts, as Jesus repeatedly went to quiet places away from people where he could pray to his Father. In this case, by dedicating the early morning to prayer, Jesus teaches us how to prioritize our own relationship to God.
While it is all very well to know I should devote myself to prayer, and do so ‘first thing’, I also need constant instruction and guidance to learn this practice. Undoubtedly, we all need instruction, encouragement, and models after which we can shape our own prayers.
So, I have included some material here for our mutual benefit. Please feel free to linger over any of these videos if you find them helpful. Some, like the instructions by Rowan Williams and Archbishop Justin Welby, are introductory and familiar in context. Others, such as the exhortations by Fr. Lazarus or St. Theophan, may strike us as intensely personal. I hope that something here will be helpful.
Yours in Christ,
Justin
Archbishop Justin Welby's series, Exploring Prayer