Prayers is one of five promises that members of McPherson First make: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. The five practices below are doorways into a life of prayer. They come from twenty centuries of Christian tradition and John Wesley's own way of forming Methodists in the eighteenth century. Whoever you are, long-time member, first-time visitor, or someone still figuring out what you believe, you're welcome to try any of them.
Prayers means daily conversation with God that shapes how you live. Christian tradition has practiced prayer in countless forms across two thousand years: silent and spoken, written and sung, alone and together. The common thread is that prayer is not primarily about getting God's attention or extracting answers. It is about staying connected. Prayer is how you keep the relationship that defines you alive across the ordinary days.
Some of these practices are ancient, like Lectio Divina and the Examen. Some are simple enough to do in line at the grocery store. None require special expertise or unusual time. Try one. Notice what changes. Bring what you discover to a Grace Group or a friend who knows you well.
Lectio Divina is Latin for "sacred reading," a centuries-old way of reading the Bible as conversation rather than information. The practice has four movements: read a short passage slowly, reflect on what stands out, respond to God in prayer, and rest in silence. Eight to ten minutes is enough.
Ways to try it:
For your Grace Group: Share one word or phrase from your reading this week and what it stirred up.
Scripture: Psalm 119:105
Wesleyan means of grace: Searching the scriptures (instituted), a Work of Piety
The Examen is a five-minute prayer at the end of the day that helps you notice where God showed up. It comes from Ignatius of Loyola in the 1500s and has been used by Christians ever since. The point is not to grade your day but to recognize how God was present in it.
Ways to try it:
For your Grace Group: Share one moment from this week when you sensed God close, and one moment you felt far away.
Scripture: Lamentations 3:22-23
Wesleyan means of grace: Prayer (instituted), a Work of Piety
Breath prayer is a short, repeatable prayer paired with breathing. It's especially useful when words feel like too much: in anxiety, grief, anger, or the middle of the night. You pick a two-part phrase and breathe in on the first half, out on the second.
Ways to try it:
For your Grace Group: Share the phrase you've been praying this week and where it has met you.
Scripture: Psalm 46:10
Wesleyan means of grace: Prayer (instituted), a Work of Piety
The Psalms are the prayer book Jesus used. Every kind of human emotion appears there: joy, grief, rage, gratitude, doubt, exhaustion, hope. When you pray the Psalms, you join the prayers of God's people across thousands of years and find words for what your own heart can't quite say.
Ways to try it:
For your Grace Group: Share which Psalm you prayed this week and what part of it stayed with you.
Scripture: Psalm 1
Wesleyan means of grace: Prayer and searching the scriptures (instituted), a Work of Piety
Fasting is saying no to something in order to say a deeper yes to God. Most often it means food, but it can also mean social media, alcohol, sweets, or screens. Fasting is not a hunger strike against God or a way to earn God's favor. It is a way of letting your body teach your soul that God is your truest hunger.
Ways to try it:
For your Grace Group: Share what you set aside this week and what surfaced when you did.
Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18
Wesleyan means of grace: Fasting (instituted), a Work of Piety
This is one of five sets of practices at McPherson First, each tied to one of the membership promises.
The most fruitful way to walk these practices is in a Grace Group, a small group of six to ten people meeting weekly for a season. Grace Groups walk the practices together, share what's stirring, and pray for each other through the week.