EDINBURGH NORTHWEST KIRK
JUNE PRAYER DIARY
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
(Psalm 23 : 1)
* * * * *
Prayers for each day
9 June Julia and her family
10 June Emma Mcmillan in her studies
11 June the Moderator who will lead one of the prayers at the 2025 National Prayer Breakfast for Scotland, being held in Edinburgh.
12 June CrossReach ministry : The Elms, Edinburgh, a residential care home for older people with a diagnosis of dementia.
13 June Edinburgh Street Pastors
14 June peace in the Middle East
15 June our services at Cramond and Pennywell
16 June Hospital Chaplains in Edinburgh
17 June the meeting of Edinburgh Presbytery today
18 June peace in Ukraine
19 June the Kirk Session meeting tonight
20 June for the recently bereaved
21 June for members of our community dealing with serious illness
22 June our services at Cramond and Pennywell
23 June CrossReach ministry : the leadership team
24 June the Moderator, who will be meeting the First Minister today
25 June the First Minister and government
26 June Open Doors ministry : pray for persecuted christians in Yemen
27 June the Prime Minister and government
28 June for members of our community dealing with mental illness
29 June our services at Cramond and Pennywell
30 June the staff working at 121 George Street
REFLECTION
Some thoughts on the practice of prayer by Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota.
First, pray with the Scriptures, using what the spiritual tradition calls lectio divina. There is no text more central, more sacred, more inspired than the Bible itself. In his First Letter to Timothy, St. Paul refers to the Bible as theopneustos, literally, “God-breathed.” He means that the Holy Spirit (a term that means “Sacred Breath”) blows through its words, its images, its narratives. Therefore, if you want to get in touch with that Spirit, open the Bible. But approach it, not casually, but in a spiritually disciplined way. Lectio divina (divine reading) is a four-step method. First, you read a scriptural passage slowly and with great attention. This is called “lectio.” Next, you “chew” on the text, mulling it over, allowing its images and ideas to soak into your own spirit. This is called “meditatio.” Third, having heard the word, you speak back to God; you tell him how the text has affected you. This is called “oratio.” Finally, having spoken to God, you listen deeply to what he says back to you. This highest engagement with the Bible is termed “contemplatio.” Try this method during these summer months, making sure you choose a relatively short passage from the Bible.
A second method I would suggest is what the tradition calls “centering prayer.” Find a quiet place…Then imagine all of the elements of your life—your friendships, your job, your kids, what you do for recreation, your political commitments, etc.—and consciously place them in relation to Jesus. Perhaps you could imagine a rose window in which all of the various features of the design are connected by spokes to the centre. In the presence of God, honestly assess to what degree the various aspects of your life are under the Lordship of Jesus, truly connected to him. The great spiritual masters teach us that the steady practice of this prayer actually brings about the unity and harmony that you seek. Many years ago, a young man approached me, and without telling me much about himself, simply asked for recommendations as to how to pray. I gave a basic instruction in centering prayer. About a month later, he returned and said, simply enough, “I have to stop having promiscuous sex!” I knew nothing about his sex life and had given him no advice; the prayer itself had brought a key aspect of his life online.
A final suggestion I offer especially to those who have no strong relationship to church or liturgy or the tradition of prayer. Use nature itself as a prompt to pray. Great saints—Francis of Assisi, John Paul II, Pier Giorgio Frassati come readily to mind—loved to commune with God amidst the glories of the natural world. Frassati was a mountain climber (hence his spiritual motto, Verso l’alto, “to the heights”); John Paul loved to ski in the mountains of Poland and Italy; and Francis moved with enthusiasm through field and forest, going so far as to preach to the birds! Thomas Aquinas taught that whatever exists is marked by goodness, truth, and beauty. So go out into the natural world. Maybe you’re closest to the sea or the desert or a forest or a lake—it doesn’t matter. Move into that space and wonder at the splendour, intelligibility, and value that you see. And then ask a very simple question: Where did all of that come from? In posing that question, you are at the threshold of prayer.
So might I urge everyone, during these more languid weeks of summer, take the time to pray!
(https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/taking-the-time-this-summer-to-pray)
If you have a prayer request or a favourite prayer which you would care to share in a future Prayer Diary, please e-mail office@cramondkirk.org.uk