Finding Your Prayer Voice
Rev. David Sparks has enjoyed 48 years as an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada and the United Reformed Church of England and Wales. His latest book, Called to Act: Prayers with Roots in the Gospel of Mark, is now available. Join the author for a discussion about his book and praying through the gospels on December 6, 2023.
Each one of us has a prayer voice, and despite the move away from organized religion and “going to church,” we all use that voice.
When something bad happens, we pray. We pray when a member of the family is in deep trouble. We pray when illness strikes. “God, be with my sister who has cancer, I’m so worried about her.”
When something good happens, we quite naturally say, “Thank you, God!”
And if we are among those who lead worship, we use our voice when we write prayers relating to the scriptures for the coming Sunday. If we don’t find the inspiration to write our own, we find someone whose voice resonates with ours. We take over their prayer voice for the service.
My book Called to Act: Prayers with Roots in the Gospel of Mark stems from my belief that prayers arise as naturally from the scripture as songs and music do. The prayers in Called to Act are in my voice, and you can read them and use them as you wish—but what I really hope is that you read a passage from Mark, then check out what I have written, and find your own inspiration, composing your own prayers and offering them for your own reasons in your own prayer voice.
The way I see it, a gospel passage will often call us to act—as individuals, or as a faith community—calling us to address things that are sometimes difficult and dangerous, calling us to be bold disciples and daring in our quest for justice. If we can’t do much on our own, we have a faithful responsibility to support and encourage those who can. We can talk to our elected representative, go to a local information session, or wake up our friends and neighbours to a pressing need. When you offer a prayer, think about what action could naturally follow—and don’t wait for God to do it for you.
Your prayers may speak of the needs and challenges in your own life, but may well relate to challenges of others, of friends and family members. They may also be prayers highlighting the crying needs of our world as well as the hopes and dreams of your faith community.
You do have a strong and faithful prayer voice! You really do: believe it, use it!
