Prayer Experiments
Our capacity for prayer grows through practice, or to describe it more specifically: through intentional and habitual experience and reflection on that experience.
One way to stretch our capacity is by taking an experimental approach. Imagine yourself as a sophomore chemistry student, entering into the lab with a notebook and a set of instructions. You work through the experiment not because you’re expected to discover findings new to the world of science, but because you’re developing your sense of what it means to be a scientist: building your capacity for disciplined observation, understanding appropriate controls, learning how the different instruments work.
In the same way, we can build our capacity for prayer by engaging in “prayer experiments”, practices and exercises which expose us to new aspects of the life of prayer. We stretch and flex, adding on new layers of experience and perspective. Step by step, we grow.
Consider taking on each these experiments, one at a time. Devote a period of time to them one at a time, and give yourself space to reflect on them. Journaling is a fine way to do this, or you might consider recruiting someone to be a conversation partner with you through the process.
(These experiments can work for individuals, but like that high school chem class, they can be useful group exercises, too.)
